A Song for my Usagi
by Yairy
Summary: Youmu Konpaku the half-ghost gardener and Reisen Udongein Inaba the lunatic rabbit is faced with an ultimatum that they can only resolve by working together. A tale that spawns the friendship and bond between two servants and their respective families.
1. Chapter 1

_Writers Note:_

 _Hello again. This tale is based on the popular pairing, Youmu x Reisen. This story is a "what if" so it may not correlate with official works completely as a fair warning. I would like to improve my writing abilities with this story so any helpful critiques that will motivate me to improve my writing skills are very welcomed._

 _This story will update once every Sunday starting 10/29/17 unless other outside events prevent me from having the time to do so._

 _There is a PDF version of this tale that provides artist illustrations in a light novel style that will be updated once every Sunday starting 11/5/17. The link will be provided in the writer's notes of every chapter. This PDF version will incorporate the current chapter and any previous chapters before it. (Please note that not all chapters will contain visuals in this story.)_

 _Thank you for spending the time to read my notes, now onto the tale._

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

The blistering heat of the autumn season scorches the Human Village. The sun now at its highest point in the sky. Without a cloud in sight, the ball of fire basks its warmth down on the land of Gensokyo. The azure blue blanket stretches clearly across the land as far as the eye can see. With a basket of freshly picked fruits, saccharine candies and, other goods bought at the local market, a girl with a stoic expression weaves her way through the bustling streets. With her bright silver bob cut hair and her signature dark green dress, the unorthodox gardener and swordswoman, Konpaku Youmu, makes her way to the next stop on her list. The shopping district full of food stands that sell luscious vegetables. Knitting through the crowd of locals, her avocado dress flows gracefully back and forth as she strides with an apathetic yet gentle beam on her face.

"Hm... It looks like there's not much left here." She scratches her ash white hair in frustration, unimpressed by the lackluster selection before her. "With how busy it is out here that's no surprise. Only a single bundle of carrots and a few packs of potatoes are left."

Finger on her lip, she debates. "Ninjin Kinpira then?" Youmu folds her arms together. "Or maybe a vegetable salad as an appetizer? But then, I'll have to make another dish." The servant's shoulders slump, coming to a stalemate.

But in the end, she reaches out for the bundle of fresh, juicy, carrots only to be intercepted by another doing the same.

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

Surprised, Youmu turns to the side and meets eyes with a suspicious looking person covered in overbearing clothing, not suited for today's harsh weather. With a thick wool black scarf wrapped around their neck stopping right below their lip, a wide straw hat shielding their sharp gaze, the half-ghost is unable to make out their features. Plastered in heavy clothing from neck to toe with only their pale white fingers escaping their gloves. As if that wasn't wary enough at first glance, the extremely large backpack raised suspiciously on their back made this person appear more frightening.

Alarm bells cry loudly in the phantom's head. "A thief?!" She shouts, earning the unneeded attention of the locals.

"H-hey, I'm not a thief! Now keep your voice down..." in a groggy tone, the suspicious person begs while observing the crowd of onlookers.

"Only a thief would dress in something so wonky!" Youmu retorts, ripping the bundle of carrots out of the accused hands.

"I'm not a thief! And, hey, I am going to pay for those!" The suspected burglar protest as they lunge for the valued vegetable bundle. "I had it first, now give it back!"

The pair tussle as Youmu holds the bundle close to her chest. With a stumble, the alleged thief's straw hat flips forward, landing softly on the seething dirt. Her two fluffy ears bounce effortlessly up and down. Her indigo hair once coiled up in her chaff hat now flows gracefully down to her waist. Face partially visible, her eyes glow a hot, simmering red, mirroring her cheeks.

"Hey… aren't you that Usagi Youkai from Eientei?"

"Eeep!" Exposed, the seemingly timid bunny Youkai searches the crowd of villager's that formed around them. She shakes her head back and forth trembling in place momentarily. Suddenly, the cottontail makes a bee-line for the nearest gap in the circle, leaving the bundle of carrots behind.

Bewildered, Youmu watches as her figure turns into nothing but a speck on the landscape. Uncertain of what just happened the gardener looks back down at the cluster of orange vegetables now in her possession.

"Hey, are ya gonna pay for that? I ain't running a charity here!" The clerk, now agitated takes charge.

"Ah, yes, yes!" With a shriek, she pulls out her wallet from her vest's breast pocket.

"Having trouble sleeping? Well, have no fear, we are here! With our brand-new no side effect sleeping medication you can rest easy all night and still wake up feeling breezy!"

With a small bell in hand, an even smaller Usagi with short black hair and a long pink dress swings the attention getter up and down. The light chimes draw in unsuspecting visitors.

"Hey, Tewi!" In a huff, an enraged woman walks over. "I just purchased new sleep meds from you guys last week! Are you saying these are better?" In irritation, she flicks her short blonde hair then crosses her arms over her long blue dress. With her magical doll hovering around her and a stare that could kill one-thousand men, she glares at the petite saleswoman.

"Ah, A-Alice Margatroid!" T-The doctor was just about to have us get in contact with-"

"Save it!" She thrust out her right palm clenched with cash.

"Well, here's the deal…Eirin said I can't prescribe you any more sleep meds without her approval. And I think you know the process from here by now. You visit her, talk about your problems, a few weeks later you might get a prescription from her.

The puppeteer grinds her teeth.

"However, if some incentive wets my whistle..."

Faced with the con-artist's wager, Alice scowls at her, attempting to pierce her soul like a dagger. But in the end, reluctantly, she reaches deeper into her pockets fishing out more cash.

"Here Rabbit!"

"Pleasure doing business with ya!"

Alice rips the bag filled with new medication with all her might then storms away.

"Hehe, sucker."

"Tewi! Tewi!"

Tewi turns around to see the taller Usagi trumping along, ears slumped. "Geez Reisen, what happened? Did you trip over a mole hole again?" The bunny snickers to the side.

Reisen rolls her eyes and fluffs her hair through her fingers. "Let's just go home already! I'm tired of dealing with these people." She says, face contorted with mixed expressions.

"Fine with me. But, hey, did you get the carrots for the other rabbits? Heck, forget about them, I'm starving here!" Tewi reaches her palms out. "Gimmie."

"I tried to buy some stuff but..." Annoyed, she ruffles her locks once again. "…hey, just forget about the dumb carrots, alright? Let's go already!" Reisen buckles her backpack and hoists it back over her shoulder, her long hair gets caught behind the bag.

"Fine. So, how much did you sell today, Reisen?" Tewi questions as they begin walking towards the fields.

"About...twenty or so bottles. Nowhere near the quota Master wanted. What about you?

Tewi snickers, slapping her knee like in some comedy skit. "A good nine or ten bottles but I bet I doubled if not tripled the cash you made."

Reisen puts her hands on her slender hips. "You've been conning people again, haven't you?! If you keep it up the humans here will stop trusting us. They might even start to hate us."

Proudly, the con-artist rests her hands behind her head still trumping along on the road.

"Details, details, now tell me what happened to our lunch?"

"..." Reisen groans. "Well...I kind of…got scared off..."

Tewi eyes grow wide then a slightly mischievous grin emerges on her face. "Wait, what?" The white bunny giggles, manically.

"That girl, you know with the white hair and creepy phantom thing lingering around her? The one from who broke into Eientei before? Well, she accused me of being a thief, but she stole that package of carrots from me!" Reisen bites her thumb nail. "Because of her stupid accusation, everyone looked at me like I was some criminal and I started getting worried. Geez, I felt like a dang fool."

"Ah, you mean that half-ghost...Konpaku Youmu?" Tewi glances over her coworker's attire. "Well, isn't that your fault for dressing all shady like in the first place? You look like a lunatic in that get-up, no pun intended."

The lunar rabbit turns her head to the side and takes a deep breath. "You don't get it..." Her shoulders slump.

"I'm right on the mark, aren't I?!" Tewi chuckles then kick the ground. "Oh, I'm good!"

"Shut up…" Reisen bites back at the joker then lifts off towards the sky. The trickster gleefully smiles then blissfully takes off behind her.

* * *

Finished with her shopping trip, the servant makes her way up the seemingly endless steps leading to Hakugyokurou, her home. When she finally reaches the door, with a huff, she slides it open. "Master Yuyuko, I'm home!" Youmu calls out, cupping her one free hand on the side of her mouth.

Yuyuko Saigyouji, the princess of death, rushes in the main hall like a child awaiting her mother's return. Even with the outlook of a pristine, dignified woman, she runs like a gerbil in a wheel.

"Oh, there you are, Youmu! Did you get the candy? You know, the candy from last week?!" Like a shark waiting to be fed, Yuyuko circles her handmaid.

"Yes, I did. Hang on a second, Master Yuyuko." Youmu rummages through her bag revealing the sack of sweets. Gracefully, the princes' leaps in the air catching it with her teeth, flip mid-air, landing on all-fours.

"Master Yuyuko! That is not how a princess should behave!"

"I'm sorry Master Eirin...I know I shouldn't have done that…" Reisen glances to the side. Now dressed in a business jersey, red tie, and short skirt falling just above her knees, the bunny looks downcast. "…but it really was-"

In the palace of Eientei, sitting in her office, a pen in hand and her hat to the side, Eirin Yagakoro, the medical doctor of Gensokyo stares firmly at her pet. She raises her finger, stopping the rabbit mid-sentence. "Ah, no excuses, Udongein. Now apologize to Tewi."

Instinctively, Reisen bites her thumb nail and gnaws on it relentlessly. "That lying no good..." She mutters under her breath.

"Hey, we can all hear your creepy mumbles, Reisen!" Tewi taunts from behind her guardian. Like a mole peeking out from its hole, she stretches her neck out just barely making her eyes visible.

"I'm sorry...okay?" Reisen dejectedly limps her shoulders as if being pulled down by a dark force.

"Sound sincere-!" Tewi mocks but the physician, tired of their bickering, cups her mouth.

The doctor moans at their childish antics then grimace back at her servant. "Reisen...it's about time don't you think?"

"Please start the dinner." Chewing on her candy, Yuyuko request. "You were quite late coming back from the village." She holds her stomach. I was so hungry _I could have died_! "

"Shut up, Master Yuyuko..." With leering eyes, the soon to be chef scowls at her master.

Yuyuko clenches her heart. "Your stares of death wound me! Please, forgive me, Master Konpaku!" With a slight crackle, she adds.

Ladle in hand the now, the chef points her cooking utensils to her master. "Only on one condition…"

"…You stop setting me up to get in trouble! Those are the conditions, Tewi!" Reisen, face puffed up, filled with annoyance as she walks into the kitchen, unbuttoning her suit. With a purple, polka-dotted apron over her white dress shirt now, she pumps her fist, ready.

"I have no idea what you're talkin' about." Tewi smirks. "And even if I did, who said I should listen?" The evil rabbit crosses her arms with a sneer, reflecting the devil himself.

"I don't need this right now, I'm trying to get back on Master's good side. If I ever been there in the first place..." Reisen searches the cabinet and pulls a few spices out. "She...hasn't been too pleased with me after we got to Gensokyo." The miserable bunny laments. "She was disappointed in me for allowing those people to run amuck around Eientei. I still don't think she's fully gotten over that."

Tewi looks through the shelf and pulls out a snack with a label clearly reading: Do not eat, the property of Kaguya Houraisan. "Really? She let me off the hook after a brief scolding. Guess that measures her love for you, doesn't it? Hehe. Lucky, you." She chews away.

"L-Love me?! Stop with your taunts, Master Yuyuko!" Youmu flustered rips the basket of food away from her whimsical Master.

"But I really do love you!" Yuyuko puffs her bottom lip out. "You do quite a lot for me." Eyes glimmering with anticipation she moves forward on her knees towards her warily cook. "And because I love you so much I'm sure my portions of the dinner your preparing will be a bit more on the hefty side, right?" Pushing her fingers together she waits for her servant's response.

With a sharp karate chop to the forehead, Yuyuko shrieks.

"You only care about the food going into your belly!" Youmu barks.

"I can't believe you!" Reisen shouts. "How could you lie about something like that?!" Searching the cabinet to no avail, the Usagi's legs give out as she holds her body on the counter. "The Princess won't be happy, she's going to tell Master Eirin then I'm really going to get in trouble!" Panicking, Reisen rushes out the kitchen leaving the pot of almost ready food still simmering. "Princess Kaguya, I didn't eat your snacks! I swear." Her pleads fade away as she disappears down the hall.

The prankster, giggling maliciously, takes out a bottle that reads condensed hot peppers and dumps the entire concoction in the boiling pot.

Crying, Reisen makes her way to the Princess's door.

With a knock at the door, ladle in hand, Youmu comes rushing out of the heated kitchen. She opens the door and bows to the guest in front.

"Hello!" A hovering trumpet floats through the entrance, revealing one of the three Prismriver Ensemble phantoms, Merlin Prismriver. Her figure comes to shape as her cream dress and soft blue hair flushes into view. Next in line, two other instruments. A violin and keyboard mosey their way inside after.

"Thank you for inviting us." The violin takes the shape of a girl with black clothes and hair as bright as the sun. Her cheeks raise slightly as she catches eyes with the gardener. Lunasa Prismriver gleefully takes a bow to the chef.

"Sorry for Merlin's rude behavior, Youmu." Lyrica Prismriver, the keyboard says as her form melts, revealing her bright red dress and her hat with a luminary star right on top.

"No, there's no problem at all. Please, go sit down. The food is almost ready." Bashfully, Youmu smiles at her three guests.

"Oh, they've finally arrived!" Yuyuko squeals as she floats into the main hall. "I'm so glad you all could make it! Please, come, enjoy this wonderful candy from the Human Village."

"Candy before dinner?!" Merlin screams like a child deprived of delicious pleasures. With a trump, she runs to Yuyuko.

"We couldn't miss out on a new business opportunity, Ms. Saigyouji." Lunasa bows gracefully.

"Business opportunity?" Eirin puts a finger to her mouth. "Is that what you've been calling it, Tewi?"

"Hey, it makes us more money for less product. I say it's a great investment if we go this route." Hands behind her back with all the confidence of ten people if not more, Tewi grins back at her employer.

"That may be true but what of the customers who decide not to come back because we are exploiting them? We can't just force sickly people to buy an expensive product as a last resort. That festers...terrible business practices." Eirin straightens out her notes. "Now promise me the next time you go out to the Human Village that you'll sell our product at the correct price." Tapping on her clipboard, Eirin pleads harshly.

Sensing a slight hostility, Tewi caves in. "F-Fine, I'll do it." Then glances upwards at her menacing boss. "Well, we can discuss this later. Yeah, let's do that! So, hey, is the food ready? I'm a little hungry."

Reisen enters from the shutter door leading to the hallway right on cue. "Ah, Master, Tewi, I was just going to get you. The food is finally ready. The Princess has already taken her seat in the hall."

"Thank you, Udongein, we'll be right there." The doctor smiles gently to her servant. "C'mon Tewi, since you seem to be so very business savvy, let's discuss this more over dinner. "With a sharp pinch on her fluffy white ear, Eirin stands up and drags her along."

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!"

"Yaaaaaaaaawwwwn."

With her long black locks in a disarray, dark rings below her eyes, stretching her beautiful skin, the Lunar Princess, Kaguya Houraisan, rests her chin on the counter.

"Princess Kaguya, you shouldn't sleep all day." Reisen sighs. "That's why you're so tired all the time." She continues to scold as she sets a bowl of simmering stew down in front of her. The other two finally arrive. Eirin gracefully tugs Tewi's long ear as they all sit down at the table.

"Itadakimasu!"

Kaguya raises her sticks then delicately stirs the hefty stew around. With mouthwatering anticipation, she lifts the stew up and puts the edge of the bowl on her lips.

"Woooooow!" So good, Merlin praises.

"It's so good! Youmu always does great work when cooking!" Lyrica chimes in as she continues eating. "This is a wonderful vegetable stew."

"Why does she get bigger carrots?!" Yuyuko crosses her arms and glares at Lunasa. Her sour voice vibrates over the chatter of dinner plates.

"Ah..." Warily, the blond-haired phantom rubs the back of her head, trying her best to respond to the enraged princess.

"Master Yuyuko, even I don't have the time to carefully pluck each large carrot into one bowl. Stop teasing, Lunasa."

Caught off guard she turns back to Yuyuko, chuckling at her expression. "Oh, hehe, so she's teasing me then?" Lunasa giggles, still shaking. "I was scared I got in the middle of Ms. Saiyouji's food source." Relieved, she gradually continues eating.

"Ah, next time when you cook Youmu-" the ghostly princess puts her finger up, gathering the attention of the group.

"Taste the food you are cooking before you serve it!" Eirin adds while scrubbing her tongue with a handkerchief.

"B-But I did! It tasted really well, too." Reisen pleads, cowering down below the table as if it's a hole for the Usagi. "But before I made the plates…it did seem a tad hot to my nose…."

"Then you might just have a piquant taste." Kaguya chimes in, still slurping the broth of her meal.

"How can you eat something so potent, Princess?!" Eirin shocked, stands up. "Even I can't stand for such a meal! I rather drink poison!"

"I have to deal with Fujiwara no Mouku often. A little heat is nothing compared to her passion when we fight. It... actually has a hint of nostalgia to it." She laughs, sipping another mouth full.

"Wow, the Princess is a whack job!" Tewi snickers, spitting to the side.

"This was you're doing, wasn't it Tewi!" Reisen points with half her body still under the table, accusing the smaller Usagi.

"Blame me all you want, I didn't touch the food. I'm innocent here." Horns growing slightly on top of her head.

Once again, Reisen puts her head down and abuses her thumb. "Liar...I'm always getting blamed for-"

Eirin claps her hands sending a jolt to Reisen. "What have I told you about mumbling to yourself. That bad habit of yours will get you in trouble one day, Udongein.

"Yes, Master..."

"Now, are you going to complain about cleaning up after dinner?"

"No, Master."

"Good! It is decided then that tomorrow we have meat!" Yuyuko chortles, fanning herself off.

"So, about that business opportunity Ms. Saigyouji." Lyrica floats over and takes a seat next to her. "Just what are we going to be playing at the Autumn Festival?" We need to give this information to the fourth sister as well."

With the dinner finished, Youmu collects the dishware then makes her way into the kitchen. There she scraps out the remains into the trash and soaks the dishes in warm water.

"Hey, do you need any help?" Lunasa walks in, hands behind her back.

"Ah, no don't worry about it. Please, go enjoy yourself with Master Yuyuko and the others."

Lunasa waves her hand back and forth. "No, I rather help you." She beams. "You made such a great meal for us, I don't want to stick all of the chores on you, too." Abruptly, Lunasa makes her way to the side of the sink. Pumped and ready to go she rolls up her sleeves and reaches for a bowl in the sink then begins scrubbing away.

Youmu scratches her cheek, ultimately giving up. "Heh, thanks, Lunasa."

"Those were some great vegetables, where did you get them from?"

"The Human Village. There's a certain food stand that I like to go to. The prices are a bit higher end, but the quality is the best there. This particular batch was the last that they had in stock for the day..."

"Oh, you got lucky nobody else took it."

Youmu's eyes glance downward at the water dancing across the wash bucket, as her hands wave back and forth over the dishes.

"Lucky huh?" Her mind races back to the moment where they met, the eyes of the lunatic rabbit and hers. The looming pulse of insanity lingering in the back of her mind resurfaces. With dried lips, she murmurs "Now that you mention it...I... may have done something a little…underhanded."

"Like what?"

"No, it's nothing. I just have to make sure I... at least apologize for it if I see her again."

"Her? Who are you talking about, Youmu?"

With a smirk, she looks back at Lunasa. "It's nothing." Shrugging off her uncertainties.

With a deep breath, Reisen groans. "Today...has been a long day...and Master wants me to go back to the village again and give out, even more, medication than before? She's crazy..."

"Didn't someone tell you to stop mumbling to yourself? I can clearly hear you in the other room." Tewi steps in snorting, obviously proud of getting away with her prank.

"I know...it's just a really bad habit but I'm trying to get better." She blushes as she continues brushing away at a pan.

"You best pack a lunch for tomorrow, that way you don't get your carrots stolen again! Haha."

Depressed, she puts her head down. "That was a misunderstanding. That girl shouldn't have accused me like that and in front of all those people no less. I was so embarrassed." Reisen sets the pan to the side and clenches her fist. "If I see her again...I'm going to drive her insane for good this time." Her eyes glow a red hatred at the thought of inflicting suffering on the unsuspecting half-ghost.

"Achoo!"

"You're sneezing an awful lot. Are you catching a cold, Youmu?"

Youmu turns to Lunasa. "I don't think so..." She sniffs.

"Probably someone's talking about you. Hopefully, it's good things if so." Finishing up the dishes, Lunasa wipes her hands and lowers her sleeves. "So, what are your plans the upcoming week?"

Youmu stares at the ceiling as if searching for the answers hidden in the walls. "Hm, not anything that I can think of other than tending to the garden and... shopping, oh, and Master Yuyuko's sword training…that she never does. Why?"

"Well, I'm sure my sister's and I are going to start practicing more because of your Master's event during this year's Autumn Festival. So, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to come by and listen to us play sometime?"

The ghost jumps with a cheerful grin. "That sounds nice. I love listening to you all play!" She claps.

"Then it's settled, I expect a critic after we perform for you." With confidence, she puts her hands on her hips. "I doubt there'd be one with our skills, though!"

As the night ends, Yuyuko and her servant send the trio off with a wave. Now with the guest gone home and the day winding down, the two bid their goodnights to one another. Lying in bed after the exhaustive day, Youmu turns to the side and closes her eyes. The harsh winds of the Netherworld where they live fail to seep into the room. Not even the spirits flowing around the outside can be heard in this silent chamber, making the much-needed rest even more rewarding. As her mind dwindles down and starts to recall the events of the day she whispers softly. "Yeah…If I do end up seeing that Usagi tomorrow...I'll... definitely... apologize to her. " Her vision grows dim as her consciousness slowly fades, drifting off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The bustle of the human village is underway once more. Youmu with a stride and basket in hand searches the shopping district like yesterday. However, today is different. Now, she's on the search for meat, hefty, hardy, fatty meats per her master's request. With that, the shopper hunts for only the freshest of fresh. Directly across the stand from the day before there is a man grilling delectable pork skewers on one end and hot peppered beef strips on the other. That delicious smell catches her nose as she makes her way over.

"Pork?" Youmu ponders. "Or maybe beef?" Now with a sudden debate confronting her, she backs up slightly to get a better view of her options. Mistakenly, she hits the back of another. "Oh, sorry." She turns around.

"Ehp!"

To the shopper's surprise the person literally hops six-feet in the air before coming down, meeting eyes with the suspicious looking rabbit from yesterday. Still dressed in the same outlandish attire as the day before, a large cuff hat shielding her ruby gem eyes, scarf wrapped around her neck slightly revealing her upper lip. Not to mention the baggy clothing from neck to toe.

"Ah!" Youmu gasp.

"Y-You again?!" Reisen replies, pulling her scarf down lower, revealing her bottom lip. With a quick glimpse at the crowd bustling by she then fiercely stomps forward. "What, are you here to bully me out of my lunch again?!"

"Bully?" The now accused slants her head. "What are you talking about?"

"You made me look like a fool yesterday!" The cottontail points at the guilty party.

Youmu rests one hand on her hip and points to herself with the other. "I made you look like a fool?" She returns the gesture, pointing back to the lunatic. Mentally, she starts to nitpick the strange bunny from the top of her hat to the tips of her toes. She couldn't help but laugh at her accusation. "Think about how you are dressed right now, I couldn't do any more to you than you've done to yourself, Usagi." Youmu scrutinizes.

"Huh?!" Now growing self-conscious, fueled with irritation the bunny whisks her puffy tail and presses on the ground. Y-you, don't understand." Annoyed, her habit kicks in as she abuses her thumb nail. "So, just step off already, half-pint!"

As if she's just been stabbed in the chest Youmu thrust her petite body back. "I am not that short!" Hands placed firmly on both her hips now as she approaches, shooting her small figure forward. "For all you know, my growth spurt is coming very soon! Very, very, soon!" Her cheeks puff like a blowfish. "I might even be bigger than you one day!" Exasperated she scorns.

"Oh, did I hit a nerve?" Reisen ridicules in a boisterous voice as her eyes glow a fierce crimson reflecting a ruby gem.

"People like you are so annoying. Criticizing me, who do you think you are, shorty?" The tall Usagi presses her finger to the shorter girl's nose, only fueling the half-ghost's irritation. "You need to check yourself!"

"Are you seriously this bent out of shape because I took a bag of carrots?" Youmu takes a step back and scratches her bone-white hair. "I can't believe this…So, immature."

"Hey, it's the principle of it!" Reisen lunges forward, seething with frustration.

Too close for comfort, Youmu flips off her straw hat at an attempt to back the lunatic away, exposing her for the second time. Like a river her long purple hair waterfalls behind her back, eyes in full bloom for spectators to see. Face flushed a hot crimson now, "Arrgg, why do you keep doing that?!" Reisen shouts.

"Tsk." The phantom retorts, folding her arms over her petite chest.

With a swirl of her violet hair, Reisen clicks her tongue. "After what you did everything else went wrong yesterday!" She lowers her voice and cranks her head to the side. "I'm gonna make you pay for making a fool out of me, shorty!"

"I am not short for the last time!" Her spirit half side swirls in frustration as Youmu tosses her basket aside then puts her best foot forward. She gracefully flows her body at an angle giving her full view of the area in and around her would-be opponent. With one hand gently grasping the shaft of her first blade, Roukanken, the upcoming duel becomes inevitable.

The bystanders react and flood to the sides of the street as the tensions rise between the two. The overwhelming pressure resonates the shopping district as a bright heat shines from the pair, mirroring two powerful deities ready to battle for rights to the land.

The unholy vicious Usagi makes the first move with a sudden sprint towards the half-ghost, reaching out her arm in a seeming attempt to grab her. Sword unsheathed in less than a flash, Youmu cuts downward, unleashing a wave of pure danmaku. Reisen weaves to the side, barely dodging the upsurge. The released energy blasts its way through the district, leaving massive cracks rippling through the streets.

The lunatic flips up landing on top of the edge of the warriors grounded blade, wedging it deeper in the dirt. Eyes parallel with one another, like a gymnast, the rabbit bounces into a summersault making her way behind her enemy. Pointer finger extended with her body upside-down, she unleashes rays of violet-purple bullets, hailing into the back of the half-ghost. The massive storm of shells riddles the district in an indigo light show of hell. Strays of danmaku tempest around the area like a thousand firecrackers being lit at once.

"Huh?" Floating mid-air, her senses tighten as the Usagi ducks, nearly missing the hot iron blade aimed at her neck from behind. A vibrant pure danmaku energy unleashes from the slash, engulfing the shopping district once more, collapsing merchant stands, vendors shops and, food stands in its wake. Like ants, bystanders scatter for safety as the fight continues unhindered.

"You're too quick for your own good!" Reisen barks as she takes off toward the sky only to be pursued by the phantom.

The storm of purple explosions rains in the sky above the village now. However, stray patterns of danmaku litter the streets, as civilians make efforts to evacuate the war zone. With every glimmer of violet pushing its weight on one side of the sky, a solemn blue from a blade cuts through, making its way closer to Reisen with every slice.

Now being oppressed, Reisen retreats backward, showering the battlefield with florid rays to hold the specter back. But even so, Youmu makes her way through the storm at an alarming rate. Only by a glimpse of luck does Reisen perceive the activation of her spell card during the mayhem. In the split second her instincts alarm her the half-ghost appears in front of her with an absolute finishing blow, ready to swing her blade down upon her head. With a great strike raging downward from her blade, Reisen maneuvers to the side, barely missing the sharp edge. But with the speed and force Youmu exhausted during her airstrike the energy breaks through the sound barrier with a sonic boom, flipping the rabbit in mid-air.

Taking this chance, the swordsman attempts to rush in for a finisher. "No, you don't!" A voice is heard from behind. Youmu instinctively turns to thin air with a spin and a slash of her blade right as a barrage of danmaku storms her blindside, causing her to lose her momentum and succumb to the hurricane. Out of the hail of colorful fire now, seething with burns, Youmu searches the quieted combat zone.

"Dang it all, she threw her voice to distract me. How careless can I be?" Youmu critics her novice act clicking her tongue against her teeth. With a deep breath, she hunts the skies only to realize her would-be victim is nowhere in sight.

"I can feel her still lingering. She hasn't fled the area…so, where is she?"

With a relentless tap of her blade's handled, a glimpse of her bright purple hair catches the side of Youmu's right flank. With a whirl, she spins her sword cutting into Reisen's neck causing the illusion to flutter into smoke.

Suddenly, the true rabbit appears from underneath her and wraps her long arms around the petite girl's chest. With all the Usagi's might, she forces the phantom from the high skies downward. Youmu, trying to grasp the situation, attempts to unsheathe her Hakurouken, her second trusted blade but the rabbit wedges her right arm between the phantom's making it near impossible.

Like two meteors falling to earth, they descend quickly gaining more attention of the spectators. Eyes now parallel with each other, Youmu's fixation on the battle weavers from the swirl of insanity invading her mind through her retinas. Eventually, they crash through a bed of fresh vegetables bringing down another unsolicited vender's livelihood. The shockwave shudders the ground, crashing windows, pottery, and other expensive goods nearby. Reisen seizes this chance and grabs the dazed Youmu's cheeks causing her to drop her blade to the dirt. The rabbit's eyes intensify a horrid crimson, glowing fiercely as she focuses attentively on the half-ghost's cobalt blue.

"Let me go!" The lunatic's victim attempts to jerk back but Reisen's pressure is filled with twisted emotions of rage and provoked vex. Her grip tightens as she subjects the ghost to more inducing trips of absurdity. The known world begins to glow a daisy purple, the ground warps an inhumane color flashing lustrously. Trees distort, and time seemingly slows down, significantly. A compelling sense of uncertainty takes hold in Youmu's chest as her legs give in and head collapses into submission. Despite being in a position that her efforts are useless the Usagi continues to pierce her heart through her retina, filling her already fragile mind with callous voices and crazed notions. Soon, even the attacker's features begin to fade into a distant memory to the petite girl. The vision of the rabbit's horrid expression becomes far away as her heart begins to pump violently. Voices ring in circles, physically and mentally draining the swordsman of her will to continue to fight. Recollections start to mold together as if in a dream, moments flash through her mind. A constant distortion of true and false memories buries around her thoughts, merging into unrealistic scenarios. The abnormal sense of not understanding the world around her has become an utmost certainty.

"Do you have any last words, half-ghost?! Anything before your mind snaps?!" The victor lets out a snicker under her breath, but the girl fails to utter a word. The line of wet saliva escapes her mouth in a pitiful display of her dignity being stripped away. Now deeply induced in a trance far away from the natural world her eyes glow a dole blue, losing its lively cobalt from before. "Nothing? Huh, nothing?" Reisen continues to crackle. "After all that talk, you can't back it up? You really are the worst…"

Even with all her efforts, Youmu's lips only move like a fish out of water. Reisen focuses intently on the pleas of now a madwoman as if it's a reward for breaking her in the first place. The now insane mutters under her breath inaudibly but Reisen's eyes grow wide as if catching wind of something.

"Eh?" the Usagi mutters.

"What the heck is going on here?!"

The world around them burst back into the picture in an instant like a bad skip in a movie. The child hits her head on the dirt signifying her absolute defeat in the dual. Eyes wide with no sign of life despite the pitiful display of breathing.

The voice from before grows ever fiercer as the well-known teacher and protector of the humans, Keine Kamishirasawa breaks through the gap of onlookers. With dim brown eyes, long silver hair streaming with blue highlights that swing back and forth as she steps closer. Her dark blue dress clicks from right to left with every stride. With a tilt of her head, her building like hat slightly falls to the side. The scold on her face mirrors an angry mother bear ready to tear her victim limb from boney limb.

Reisen, plopped firmly on top of the tiny ash-haired girl starts to squirm as the teacher approaches, hands on both of her hips.

"Reisen Udongein Inaba, was it?" Keine's lips curl violently. "What on earth do you think you're doing, Lunar Rabbit?" Her glare turns to the now unconscious ghost, her spirit half still dangling around, slowly. "Even that child, Konpaku Youmu was rebelling in such a fashion around the village? Well, at least I don't have to scold her just yet."

With a harsh crunch of the ground, she storms her way closer. Reisen jolts to her feet. "Ah, Ms. Kamishirasawa…" Frantically, the rabbit searches for an exit.

"Don't you dare." Her voice stabs the doe, freezing her in place. With her face square to Reisen, the cold breath of her murderous intent shivers down the guilty's spine. "Do you two even realized the destruction you've caused during your unprecedented dual?"

Inspired to look around, Reisen takes a deep breath. She closes her eyes then with all the courage she can muster, glances to the side to the truth of the scene they've caused. The shopping district now in an incredible disarray. Civilians picking up destroyed pieces of their shops, gardens of nearby homes devastated, houses riddled with slice marks, burns, and broken windows, product spread from one end to the next like a sea of garbage. The village is an underwhelmingly sorry sight.

"Now, what should I do with you, bunny?" Keine grins deceptively, taking hold of Reisen's shoulder. Her nails dig in harshly causing the lunar rabbit to twitch.

"Reisen! I think that's enough." Breaking the teacher's focus, a certain smaller cottontail hops in behind her and takes the hand of the culprit.

"Geez, didn't think you'd get the courage to try to actually drive her insane." Tewi shakes her head. "That poor girl probably had no idea what was coming." Looking downcast at Youmu still sprawled out on the dirt. With groans, the half-ghost rolls into a fetal position, mind still twisting and turning from the sudden trauma.

"We can't leave her like this," Keine suggest as she passes the two and leans over the gardener.

"Tsk, she had it coming…" Reisen scorns as she watches Keine scowl over the kid like a hawk.

Tewi puts her hands on her hips and grins lightly. "If I were you, I'd take her to Master Eirin and quick." She then rubs her nose. "I got to stay here and make the money for us to live on. You know, being the breadwinner and everything."

"Huh?" She shrieks "Wait, why should I? S-she started it. A-and Keine's here now, she can help her…I think." With a groan, she presses on. "You should have heard what she said about me." Reisen bites her nail trying her best to keep her voice down. "It's not right treating people like that, I should just leave her. She'd probably learn a lesson in attitude if she's not permanently brain dead for the rest of her life."

"Listen, Reisen…" Tewi interrupts. "You have a lot of witnesses around here watching you. If I were you I wouldn't want to lose any more business for Eientei. Tewi contemplates her lie with her hand resting on her cheek. "Hm, I can work with this. Listen, you as the well-respected medicine supplier is taking her to the doctors...even though it was your fault to begin with." The rabbit sighs and puts her hand behind her back searching the destruction. "Hey, with all the chaos you both pulled I'm sure I can cash grab, easy. Use your impulsive behavior to make me more money!"

"You really are the devil!" Reisen disdains. But reluctantly the rabbit clicks her heels, waltzes back over to Keine and bends down.

"Ms. Kamishirasawa …I can take her to Master Eirin." She whispers.

"Haven't you've done enough damage?" Keine retorts with a glare of untrusted aura. But with a second glance at the unwell Konpaku, the pseudo-doctor grunts bitterly. "Well, she won't get any better staying here. So…"

Downcast, Keine gets to her feet. "I'm not letting you off the hook that easy, Lunar Rabbit. Next time you come to this village there will be consequences for the both of you. Causing such a ruckus…that is why I truly…hate dealing with Youkai."

With those bitter words weighing her down, Reisen takes hold of Youmu, lifting her body up, cradling her in her arms. She mutters in surprise, "Wow, she's actually fairly light. She might be a little boney too. Malnourished, maybe?"

With the guilt boiling in her stomach and a taste of sour blame fueling her mouth, she lifts off to the skies, towards her home, Eientei.

"Do you see that?! How will this man ever see the light of day on his business?" Tewi points to one of the busted shops. " Now…if he had the Usagi Insurance then this accident would have netted him a brand-new shop and replacements for all the broken product he'd ever need in a blink of an eye!"

"What is that rabbit talking about?" The crowd now curiously gets closer.

"With the _Usagi Insurance_ , we cover all crazy incidents like these. Sign right up, Sign right up folks." Tewi rings her bell. "You see that folks? Step right up and write your name down here on this signup sheet. With this, you will always be protected from sudden losses! Additional fees may apply." The con brings out a large sheet of paper. Confused, the crowd congregates around her.

Kamishirasawa shakes her head at the disaster that unfolded then glares at the con-artist in disbelief. But eventually, she stomps away with nothing more than a huff.

Reisen's ear tickles, hearing the last bits of Tewi's spill. "Way to exploit me, liar!" She mumbles as she speeds off to get away from the growingly uncomfortable situation.

"Nnngg." Reisen looks down at Youmu cradled in her arms. "You...had this coming..." the lunatic convinces herself.

* * *

"Eirin I feel a presence in the air today." The princess of the moon slugs her body on the medicine table. Her long crow hair waves across from one end to the next.

"Please don't do such unsightly things, Princess. And I agree...something just feels off about to-"

"Master! Master!" Reisen hops into the room carrying the petite childlike girl in her arms. "Master, I need help."

"Speak of the devil." Eirin presses her pen to her lip. With exasperation, she stands up and leads her pet to the examination bed. "Tell me, what happened?"

"She...passed out." Her pet murmurs, glancing to the side.

"Before she passed out, Udongein?"

"I may have...overdid it, Master." The blood in her body boils but to suppress her frustration she concludes. "…and forced her into a trance. She's not waking up from it either..."

"For how long?"

"I dunno…two minutes or so...Probably more?

The irritated Master scratches her forehead. "You shouldn't have done something so stupid. What possessed you to do something like this?"

Unable to respond, Reisen buckles her knees together.

"I'll have to keep her for a few hours to make sure she doesn't have any complications. She is bound to wake up from this soon, hopefully with no lasting effects.

"I see..." In a business casual tone, the cottontail replies.

"I suggest you inform her Master, Yuyuko Saigyouji, of this matter before she gets worried. The last thing we need is that ghost princess bursting her way through our home like last time." Nurturing her head, she glares at her pet in disappointment. "In all honesty, I rather not see her at all."

"Right…"

"And Reisen..."

"Yes?"

Eirin opens her mouth but the words fail to escape. Closing her eyes, she lets out a brief groan. "...No, never mind."

With a bow, Reisen strides out of the examination office.

"She seemed so tense. I've never seen her act out like this." Like a mouse in the room, the princess stayed quiet until the third party left. Now alone with Eirin, aside from their new plus one, the sleeping half-ghost.

"Hm, hey, this girl is kinda cute, don't you think?" She giggles, poking the unconscious girl's cheeks.

"I don't know what's gotten into that Usagi lately." With that, she raises to her feet and reaches for a small white cloth near the sink. "She's been acting far too impulsive for her own good, it's starting to get out of hand..."

"Well, it is around that time, Eirin. Maybe we should be more patient with her, okay? One day, she'll tell us what's truly going on in her head." Kaguya with a carefree yet concerning beam reassures her protector.

The doctor can't help but raise her cheeks. With a slight nod she finishes up by placing a warm towel over the gardener's head, her breathing still irregular from her prior trauma.

"Yeah, I hope so, Princess." The physician mutters.

* * *

Standing under the cherry blooms surrounding Hakugyokurou, the Princess of the Netherworld angles her head to the highest point of the tree. Her mind now clear as she watches the blossoms dance across the heavens. As the time of solitude flows gently by, recollections start to float into her mind. Wildly, events rummage through the keeper of death's consciousness as the petals continue to dance in the winds. With a bitter nip if her bottom lips the ghost reminisce the past. But as soon as the depths of her mind gathers around a certain memory the crisp crunch of a twig breaks through her concentration, causing her to turn around to see a bashful rabbit viewing the fallen buds as well.

"Ah, if it isn't that rabbit from Eientei. What brings you all the way here to the Netherworld, Inaba Reisen, was it?"

"That's right, Ms. Saigyouji." The hare cast her eyes towards the pink peddles flowing gently across the beautiful landscape. "I am here to inform you of a matter…you see…"

* * *

Now sitting in a roomy dining hall alone, Reisen takes the time to observe the palace in all its glory. The home is spacious, Japanese artifacts litter the manor giving it a powerful ancestry as if generation after generation sat in between these very walls. To her surprise, the modest size isn't what she expected from the extraordinary upkeep of the outside. Even though not much wildlife grew about these parts, as she figured, the flowers blooming to the peak of perfection, luscious colors gave her a different insight to the world of the dead.

With a serving plate balancing two steaming cups of tea in one hand and a small basket of fruit in the other the ghostly princess makes her way back into the dining hall. However, her balance is lacking as she nearly faceplants a few times before reaching the table. With a coy chuckle, the head of the house serves the rabbit her drink and makes her way to the other side sitting firmly across from the cautious bunny.

"Thank you for the hospitality." For sake of formality, Reisen takes a sip of the warm concoction and immediately regrets her decision, spitting it out to the side.

"Oh my, is everything alright?"

"This is horrendous-" Her eyes perk up to see the curious princess as ignorant as a child. With a finger to her mouth and a tilt of her head, Yuyuko watches intently at her guest.

"It's...a little hot. Sorry." She catches herself. The guilt overcast her features as she goes for a second drink, again regretting her decision.

"So, please tell me, what happened to my Youmu?"

The hare sets her cup down and takes a deep breath. "Her and I had a fight and I took it too far." She confesses, now exhaling deeply.

"A fight? Oh, my." With her sleeve over her cheeks the ghost nods.

Reisen goes on to explain what happened during the days' time. Yuyuko attentively listens to the matter with no other interjections. Only brief signals here and there or short mummers confirming her understanding of the event. Eventually, Reisen reaches the end of her short tale.

"Maybe it didn't need to escalate to what it did but like I said…I took it too far."

"Reisen Udongein Inaba?"

"Yes?"

"You seem like a good person, Inaba. You even show sympathy for what you've done to my Youmu-"

"Ah." Reisen cuts in, stopping the ghost mid-speech. "Despite what you believe, I don't feel bad for it." The lunatic sulks away from the teasing ghost.

Yuyuko disguises her lips with her Japanese styled elaborate fan. Now, masking her irritation a sinister aura seeps out from her presence. "Be grateful Usagi, I won't put death on you."

"Ep!"

"Joking, little rabbit. Hahaha!" With a genuine sneer the prankster giggles at her tasteless joke.

Reisen, not taking too kindly to the phantom's disturbing tease bites down on her thumb. Instinctively she searches towards the exit to the manor. "She's scary..." she mutters, ready to make a break for the door if the Princess gets eerily violent.

"Well…" The Noblewoman crosses her arms and closes her eyes, pondering the situation firmly. "It's no doubt that I am worried, even if she's with Eirin...however, I'm sure nothing will happen to her. This might actually be quite interesting to see unfold." Yuyuko snickers. "Youmu might have a stimulating experience that she can tell me all about when she gets back.

Confused by her abnormal cheer, the rabbit murmurs, "This is that half-ghost's Master, huh? She's like a child." Reisen looks down at her teacup. "And her cooking skills aren't the best either. Hm, I wonder if her servant makes all her meals too?"

"You mumble quite loudly, rabbit..." Yuyuko interjects in the lunar rabbit's monologue.

"Huh?"

"I don't think you even realize…how disturbing that is. You truly are a lunatic!" With a grin the Princess cups her cheeks in her palms. With a mile-long stare, she searches her guest's eyes. "It's…quite troubling indeed."

Her ears droop slightly. "I'm sorry, Ms. Saigyouji." That is the only response she can muster after her shameful display. "It's…a habit I'm working on." Dejected, Reisen sighs.

"I understand." With a reassuring smile, Yuyuko nods. "So, do you know when Eirin will release her?"

"She'd like her to rest for a few hours, so she can monitor her. But in all honesty, she should be just fine after that. If I would have entranced her for longer there might have been side effects afterward but...that shouldn't be the case. Not with Master's abilities aiding her along."

Reisen takes a deep breath. "With that, I will take my leave, Ms. Saigyouji."

"Ah, hold it."

Like ice, the rabbit freezes midway into her abrupt escape plan.

"Hear me out, Inaba Reisen."

Wordless, Reisen turns back to Yuyuko and sits back down now giving her full attention.

"I'm sure Youmu isn't completely innocent in this conflict between you two. She can be rather hard to deal with at times." The princess extends her fan in front of her lips once again. Her eyes seem far away from the conversation now as if viewing a distant memory but eventually she tilts her head and closes her eyes.

"Her sense of nobility but gullible ignorance at times can lead her to make childish mistakes. She's always been the type to point out others faults before truly understanding the reasons behind their downfalls too…"

Yuyuko grows silent as she sets her fan aside on the wood table. With a beam, she looks back to the Usagi.

"But even so, she's not a bad person, Inaba." Yuyuko leans in and puts her hand on top of the rabbit. Reisen squints at the sudden embrace but reluctantly accepts it.

"So, please after this entire ordeal is over…make good friends with her." She draws her face closer to her prey and leers sharply. "Else I'll make rabbit stew of you."

Abruptly, Reisen storms out the front doors, trembling in terror. "Stopped me just to threaten me?! T-the nerve of that ghost!" Legs wobbling, she stumbles a few times before catching her nerves and lifting off into the distance.

"Have a nice day, little bunny." Hysterically, Yuyuko laughs, waving the scared stiff cottontail goodbye.

The sinister cries of the madwoman reach the hare's ears, as she speeds up like a bat out of hell, far, far away from the Netherworld.

* * *

"Nnnn..." The surroundings are blurry, the world is engulfed in an everlasting haze. Shrouded in the darkness of insanity, a light takes form. The natural miasma of the world reflects the patient's vision now. Youmu turns to the side. Her eyes flicker as she slowly adjusts to the daisy yellow skies light. The world forms in place of the absurdity of her mind, melting into a hospital room.

"Good afternoon."

"Nnn, what's going on?" Youmu raises up from the bed as she notices her long green dress hanging up along the wall. Confused, she examines her clothes again, now realizing she's dressed in a long, grey gown with the back slightly exposed. To the side of her is Eirin, the expert pharma tech of Gensokyo. That is all she needs to connect the pieces of this puzzle.

"You don't have to worry; your condition is much better now." Removing a bandage from her right hand, she swiftly replaces it with a clean, fresh one. "Oh, and don't worry, we even informed your master of what happened." The diligent doctor speaks as she writes on a clipboard.

"Now tell me, what is your name?"

Still grasping the situation, Youmu hesitates momentarily. After a brief deliberation, she turns back to the physician. "Konpaku…Youmu."

"And your blood type?"

"A."

"What color eyes do you have?"

"Blue."

"You remember the basics. I can't tell from just this though if there have been any lasting effects from that lunatic's trance." The physician sets her clipboard to the side. "I apologize for my Udongein's behavior."

Perplexed, the phantom crosses her arms. "Ah, that's right..." Youmu ponders. "If I'm correct...she suddenly forced me into a trance." She then clicks her tongue. "How careless of me."

Eirin leans an elbow against the desk. "I can't tell you what was truly going on inside that head of hers when she attacked you but…" She cuts herself off, spins around on her chair and opens a nearby cabinet filled with medicines. With a whirl, she plops two bright orange pills in a small cup and hands it to her patient, Youmu. "...It might be due to the stress I've placed on her."

"Stress?" Youmu thinks for a moment then puts the pills in her mouth. With a swig of the water next to her, the medicine goes down easy. "What does that have to do with me though?"

"Absolutely nothing." She beams. "Ever since we started living here on Gensokyo I've made her do plenty of things that she's not too familiar with." With her fingers, she starts to list off the chores. "Like selling medicine in the village, conversing with humans more often, even learn new chemicals and formulas while taking care of daily task like cleaning, cooking, dusting, so on, so forth."

Eirin moans then ganders back at the gardener. "But after all this push for her to socialize more…she still won't leave that outrageous disguise at home like I've told her to multiple times. She's a little insecure about being around too many people, I think." Crossing her arms, she nods. "Rather not be recognized by others. I guess she really wants to be heard…not seen."

The gardener silently listens to the monologue of the bunny's master. She shows no sign of interjecting her own two-cents in. The stoic expression halts Eirin from continuing.

"Oh, look at me going on about this. Sorry to bore you."

"I don't mind. But I don't care, either."

"I guess you're ready to go home, aren't you?"

Youmu nods. "Thank you for taking care of me. I do appreciate your concern. Ah, how much do I owe you in compensation?"

"Money is not necessary." She waves her hands. "It's the least I can do for her impulsive behavior. Here, let me get your release papers."

Rummaging through a bag she takes out a bottle. "I would also like you to take a couple of these, twice a day for two weeks. If you have any lasting symptoms from this ordeal you let me know right away." Eirin, still beaming as she hands the half-ghost a bottle filled with medication. "Oh, and make sure to tell your Master that we treated you with the utmost respect."

"You immortals want nothing to do with us, do you?"

"That's not true at all!" Eirin giggles with a hint of guilt.

* * *

Dressed now in her usual wear, Youmu makes her way outside of the palace known as Eientei. She searches her surroundings, the ocean green bamboo towers to the heavens making this bastion a treasure within this luscious forest. With one hand promptly on her blade, the swordsman looks up to the sky and catches the floppy ears of a certain Usagi coming into view. With a flip, she lands to the ground and rises to her feet.

With her stoic appearance, the ash-haired maiden stares daggers, upward at the taller rabbit only a few feet away. Wordless, the hare does the same, glaring downwards. Like a standoff against an unstoppable force and an immovable object neither breaks their gaze. But eventually, the shorter of the two grows annoyed, severing the connection between them.

"Tsk." The gardener scoffs then passes the rabbit by.

With a sharp grin, Reisen mocks, "Hope you learned your lesson- "

But before she can finish the swordsman's iron blade halts at her neck with only centimeters from contact. The lunatic's eyes shine uncontrolled as she stands firm, not wavering in the slightest. With a sigh and the blood boiling unnaturally in her, the stoic gardener sheaths her sword.

"I'm too tired to deal with a coward like you…"

As the wind blows, pushing the gardener away towards her home she takes off to the skies, leaving the crazed bunny alone in the bamboo forest clearing. Reisen gazes at the phantom disappearing into the coming night.

With a sigh of her own, she nibbles on her nail in the solitude of the night. "Tsk…she just doesn't understand…" Reisen grumbles as she makes her way back into Eientei.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Writers notes**_

 _Light Novel version is found:_

* * *

 _h't't'p's':'/'/'w'w'w'.'m'e'd'i'a'f'i'r'e'.'c'o'm'/'f'i'l'e'/'z'b'b'g'o'e'z'i'v'b'h'f'0'n'p'/'S'o'n'g'%'2'0'f'o'r'%'2'0'm'y'%'2'0'U's'a'g'i'%'2'0'C'h'a'p't'e'r'%'2'0'1'-'3'.'p'd'f'_

* * *

 _Please remove (') to get the link working for the PDF of Chapters 1-3. All art is created by Raestu27 from Deviantart._

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Eientei flurries with the sound of rabbits hopping through the halls. Outside of the door guarding the almighty princess, Kaguya Houraisan, Tewi knocks relentlessly. With no answer, she knocks again, and again…and again until Eirin slides open the door. Bags under her eyes, hair in shambles with a sea blue t-shirt and hot red pepper slim shorts, the doctor groggily peeks her head out the door. Tewi shields her nose as the unholy scent of sweat and bitter shame seep out from the room.

"Huh? Oh…What is it, Tewi?" She mutters almost incoherently. "I thought I told you not to bother us for the night."

"It's like ten in the morning, Master Eirin." Tewi snickers, still fanning off the musk in the room.

"It's that late? Wow…we had quite the night, that's for sure."

"Well anyway," Tewi interjects. "We have a problem. You know who is here to keep her promise to the Princess."

Worn out, the doctor exhales deeply. "Can't you just tell her to come back tomorrow…or something?" She pleads.

"I've already told her to get to steppin' but you know…there's only so much a rabbit can do before she decides it's time to run and leave the fighting for others."

The blood boils through Eirin's temple as the bright sun beaming in her eyes gives her a prolonged headache. The morning is already starting out terribly but with the mixture of Tewi's outright rejection, the doctor sighs in frustration once more.

"I'll…be right there." Defeated, she closes the door.

"Hey, Tewi?"

At her name, the white rabbit turns to the side to see Reisen hiding behind a wall to the other room, beckoning her over. With a smile plastered on her face, Tewi humors her and follows.

"So, what do you think they do in there…all night?" Reisen shutters. "Princess Kaguya has been having Master stay cooped up in there with her. She won't let her even leave during and Master is always so worn out when she goes to work the next day…So they can't be sleeping…"

Reisen closes her eyes and ponders.

"She once told me that, 'we do…stress relieving activities with each other.' And that, 'Princess Kaguya can be extremely dominating sometimes.'"

"I have a few theories but you're probably too innocent to hear them!" Tewi chuckles and hops away.

"H-Hey, what does that supposed to mean?" Reisen calls as she frolics behind.

Moments later, Eirin approaches the exit doors hoisting her trusty bow to her side. She steps outside to meet her gaze with a woman bestowing an angelic-like presence. With a fiery ribbon on the top of her head, her ash white hair waterfalls passed the heels of her feet. The heat from her body mirrors the fire in her eyes. Just looking at her reminds the doctor of the annoying sun pounding her headache with rays of obnoxious light. With blazing overalls on and her hands resting in the pockets, the woman named Fujiwara no Mokou stands high on a bamboo branch glaring down towards the manner.

"How can I help you today, Fujiwara?" Eirin gurgles.

"I have no need for you Eirin!" Fired up, the girl shouts.

Eirin holds her head nurturing the relentless headache then glares back at her enemy. "Well, the Princess is cooling off right now. We had…quite the rough night. So, if you will…" Her voice trails off.

Mokou crosses her arms. "I-I am not here to hear about your lewd relations with Kaguya, either!" She blushes, spitting to the side.

"Hm?" The doctor looks at her, questionably tilting her head.

However, the person in question appears behind her trusted bodyguard. In a white tank top and long grey sweats, she lumps her soft white arms gracefully around Eirin's breast, sitting her chin on top of her shoulder. Eirin doesn't respond to her advances however, she continues to stare sinisterly at Mokou.

"Listen Mokou, my Eirin and I had quite the hot and heavy night. At times I was holding my breath to see what she'd do next. She's quite the player when she wants to be." Kaguya snuggles her cheek up to the doctor like a kitten. "You should watch us sometime. You may learn a thing or two from our experience together." She snickers.

Mokou, taken aback squeals in protest. "You perverted…"

"Huh?" Kaguya tilts her head questionably.

"I'm not here for you two, I am here on another occasion today!"

"Oh, so you've finally let that everlasting fire burn out, Mokou?" Kaguya teases.

Mokou's face sprawls in twisted rage. "Do you want to die? Don't tempt me, Kaguya!" She woofs, sending a shockwave across the bamboo forest.

Kaguya scorns at this overreaction. "Whatever, you're wasting our private time, waddaya' want already?!"

"I'm here for Inaba Reisen!" Fujiwara proclaims.

Reisen peeks out the side door upon hearing her name.

"What does Fujiwara no Mokou want with me?!" the rabbit shakes like a leaf.

"Beats me, but I'd be careful if I were you…Mokou plays for keeps if you know what I mean." Tewi chuckles then wistfully make her way back towards the kitchen.

"Well, I can't allow you to take Reisen away without knowing of your intentions."

"Master!" Heart throbbing with tears of uncontrollable joy streaming down her face the loyal rabbit gets to her knees, praising Eirin. "Thank you, Master!"

"That information is between her and I. You two have no merit in this matter. INABA REISEN, come out from behind that wall and face me!"

Her boisterous demand booms catching the lunatic by surprise. With a deep breath, she trickles out slowly from the safety of the manner.

"You're coming with me and that's final."

"W-What do you want with me?" Reisen pleads. "Y-You can have Princess Kaguya…if you want."

"Way to throw me under, Reisen!" Kaguya giggles playfully.

"Master, Princess, help me!"

Kaguya steps in front. "Will you leave faster if this Usagi leaves with you?"

"Princess!" Reisen shrieks.

"My only reason for coming to this filthy abode is to find that bunny. Killing you is left for another day."

Kaguya's face twist in annoyance then gently falls back into a calming smile. "Well, you heard the woman, get." She pushes Reisen forward. "I'll see you when you get home…if you get home."

The princess rummages through her pocket and tosses a black dog collar with a leash attached to it towards Mokou. "Take her by force if you have to, just leave already!"

"W-Why do you have that?!" Reisen shocked at the turn of events. "Th-This is animal cruelty! Master, please help- "

Eirin holds her head still suppressing her headache. Groggily she replies, "Listen to your mother…"

Disowned by both parents now, Reisen slumps her head dejectedly.

* * *

Book in hand, taking a rest from the usual duties of the Netherworld, the half-ghost servant leans her body on the wall and explores a new world.

"Oh, Youmu there you are. I could not for the life of me find you."

"Sorry, after yesterday I loss quite a bit of time to finish my normal task." Youmu scoffs. "I took the chance in the morning to complete the chores I failed to accomplish.

Yuyuko makes room next to her, slightly cuddling beside her. The shapely body of the ghost princes' molds around her…lesser developed counterpart.

"Eh, what are you doing?!"

"I'm cuddling next to my Youmu!"

"T-That's not what I mean!"

With a hot breath on the child's neck, she lies her head on her servant's shoulders. With a sigh of relief, she mumbles incoherently.

"Huh, did you say something…Master Yuyuko?"

"I'm…just glad you're okay."

"Mhm…"

"You worried me, you know."

"Stop teasing. "Annoyed, Youmu angles her head, turning back to her master only to notice her face is blown up. With a soft yet firm glare, she searches her servant's eyes persistently. Her gaze only increases the guilt in the half-phantom's stomach.

"B-But it wasn't my fault." Embarrassed and slightly irritated, Youmu escapes back into her book but her Master does not let up. Yuyuko buries her head deeper in her shoulder making it near impossible to ignore her.

"Is that so?"

"If it wasn't for the ridiculous Usagi then none of that would have ever happened." Staying firm, she straightens her body. "I do apologize for making you worry but that bunny is the root of it."

"Oh, is that really true, Youmu?"

The two stares at one another without a word seeping between them. The solemn atmosphere persists as they share a deep gaze through each other's eyes. A sudden embrace captures the back of her head as she realizes that Yuyuko is petting her softly. Her gesture sparks the guilt tumbling in her to swirl violently.

"Ah…" Youmu opens her mouth when a harsh knock at the door breaks the small world they find themselves in, bringing the two back to reality.

"Youmu...Youmu, is someone at the door?" Yuyuko questions, a slight annoyance lingering in her voice.

Escaping the growingly uncomfortable situation, as if a savior has come to rescue her, Youmu gets to her feet and marched towards the front door. Before she reaches her hand out she comes to a halt and calls back to her master. "Well anyway Master Yuyuko, if I see that Usagi again it'll be too soon-"

With those last words, she opens the door to see a woman she never expected to ever visit Hakugyokurou. Hands in her bright red overall pockets, Fujiwara no Mokou stands on the other side. It takes the half-ghost a moment to see a black leash extending from her left side. Her eyes follow the cord to reveal the topic of conversation only moments ago in a demining sight. Reisen, pulling ruggedly with a dog collar around her neck. On all fours, she tugs harshly at a failed attempt to escape. As if terrified by some unknown trauma she persistently struggles.

Mokou's expression features one of stoic but bitter annoyance. Speechless, they stare at one another. Only the harsh grunts of the bunny pulling on her restrictions are heard between them. Eyes as wide as apples, the servant takes in the sight before her. As the moment grows longer and even more creepy, warily, Youmu slowly closes the door.

"Who was it?" Yuyuko calls out from the other room.

"Morally deviant people!" Youmu tempers.

"Huh, hey!" Aggressively, Mokou knocks at the door again.

"We are pure in this residence! Take your unsavory behavior far from this place!"

"Pure?" Mokou contemplates what she's suggesting. She then stares at Reisen who gazes back without a word, still on her fours. Only after she starts to whimper does a lightning bolt strike in Mokou's stomach.

"Huh? Y-You have it all wrong Konpaku Yoummmmuuuu!"

* * *

In the human village, a small crowd stands together. They discuss back and forth inaudible whispers that only the congregation can hear. One man from the group looks to see three figures gliding across the sky. They point towards them as they land near the town's school. Now standing outside of a modest building with two large windows in the front and a small play yard in on the side, the three in question, Youmu, Reisen and, Mokou all gather together.

"What are we doing here, Fujiwara no Mokou? You said it was important that I come…"

"Yeah, I'm not liking this at all." Reisen sneers to the side. "And can you please take the collar off now?!"

"I'm still afraid you'll run off. I can't allow that. Now, she's been waiting all morning, let's go inside."

"She?" the clueless pair bobbles their head to the side.

However, Mokou doesn't respond right away. Instead, she opens the sliding door that leads to a dark hallway then steps to the side, signaling the other two to head in first. Youmu makes a step forward first as Reisen trails behind warily. Mokou, still holding her leash is right behind her.

"Keine!' Mokou calls out towards the back of the room. Nobody response so Mokou once again calls out, still to no avail. "Hm, she was here a bit ago. She may have stepped out."

"Ms. Keine wanted to see us?" Youmu turns to Mokou.

She nods in response as they make their way to the back door in the extended hallway. With a knock at the door, a voice finally calls back.

"Come in."

Mokou brushes in as the creak of the door cries gently, revealing the teacher in question, Keine Kamishirasawa. With a stack of papers, a mile high and wrinkles littering her forehead, she lifts her head and points to two conveniently placed out wood chairs in front of her desk.

"Ah, please take a seat you two."

Reluctantly the pair does as they are told. Now finally gathered in the teaching corners, Reisen and Youmu sit side by side in rugged wooden chairs as Keine rustles through her pages. The tension in the room mirrors two students in trouble by the principle.

"I'll leave you all be." Mokou excuses herself, exiting out before they can reply.

The silence persists as the protector of the village continues to inspect her sheets one by one. After what seems to be a lifetime with only the harsh clank of the gears of a wall clock she begins.

"We have inspected the damages from the incident you two pulled yesterday." Kamishirasawa clears her throat. "It's…overwhelming, to say the least."

"So that's what's going on, huh?" Reisen lets out a sigh of relief.

"Why are you taking this matter so lightly, Usagi? From what I heard you seem to be the more aggressor in this conflict." Keine piano's her right hand across the table.

"It was the phantom who started this…" Reisen bites her nail and murmurs.

"You went overboard, I was defending myself. So, I have no reason to worry about what unfolded by your impulsive behavior."

"Impulsive?!" Reisen stands up. "You wanna say that again, half-pint?!"

"I am not short!" Youmu squares up to Reisen. "You seriously know how to piss me off!"

Keine watches from the seat, her anger slowly boiling from within like a teapot ready to whistle.

"I won't be pushed around by someone like you." The rabbit flicks the phantom on the head.

"Myon!~" she jolts, backing up a tad. "Hey!" Youmu squeals as she readies her blade.

"Enough!" Like an explosion, Keine's authoritative voice halts the rapidly escalating situation. "Sit down right this instant."

At her command, the pair sits back down politely and focuses back on the irritated teacher.

"Listen, we have already come up with a proper way for you two to payback this outrageous sum of money that you both effortlessly collected.

"Payback?" Youmu parrots.

"Yes. Someone needs to be held responsible for this matter. If you aren't getting that concept that actions have consequences than here are your first life lessons children…they do."

Keine clears her throat once again. The room is soundless as the two ponder about the grave situation they now find themselves in.

"Now then…" Kamishirasawa elaborates. "The Autumn Festival is coming up in nearly three-weeks. All the shops you two destroyed along with the product and other goods were going to be used during the event." Keine leans back in her chair and straightens her shoulders. "Without those, there won't be any food stands, vendor stores, game shops, so on, so forth. Everything will be a complete disaster. That is the last thing the people of the Human Village want to happen."

"So, what are we going to be doing?" Reisen questions.

"You two are going to help rebuild the stores, replace the goods and aid the town throughout the entirety of the Autumn Festival."

Youmu's face rises in surprise. "B-But I have my duties as-"

"Else you can take the alternative."

"Alternative?" The pair mimics.

"Be exiled from the Human Village from today on."

Youmu stands up and puts her hand on the teacher's desk. "Ms. Kamishirasawa, you have no idea how much that would effect Master Yuyuko's disposition! That would damage her psychologically if I wasn't able to get the proper foods she needs!"

Keine smiles smugly. "Ah, it seems you have a stake in this. That's better for me, Konpaku Youmu." She then daggers at the rabbit still firmly in her seat. "What have you to say, Inaba Reisen?"

"Fine by me." Sharply, she replies.

"Huh?"

"I don't like coming to this village anyway. Any reason to stay away from this place and its locals are just fine with me."

Keine's expression sours. "What about your medication business?"

"Tewi sells more than I do."

"And your Master?"

"I'll tell her something."

"She won't be mad?"

"She'll get over it."

Youmu beams with resolve. "With that settled, let's get this rabbit out of our way and start working, right Ms. Kamishirasawa?!"

"No."

"Huh?" Shocked, as if all the energy in her body had been zapped out of her she falls back in her seat. Her phantom half tries to comfort her to no avail.

"I won't allow you to run away from your actions, Inaba Reisen." Annoyed, Keine stands up from her chair.

"Huh, but you gave me the choice-"

"And I'm taking it right back, from the both of you!" Keine nurtures her head. "I thought giving you both this ultimatum would pressure you to look at what you've done wrong but in a sense, I was the wrong one."

Reisen stares down to the ground. Youmu looks over at her noticing a subtle change in her demeanor.

"New rules then."

"New rules?" The half-ghost shrieks.

"You both will help this village, like it or not. And if even one of you drop out of this three-week session then both of you will be banned for the other's actions."

"Myon!~?"

Standing to her feet the teacher paces to the side wall and gazes out of the window. "Now, since you both have no control over your own fates this will force you to decide together what's the best option." She turns back to the guilty party searing with frustration. "I'll give you time alone to discuss this matter so, come to a firm conclusion in an hour or I will make the decision for you both."

With a huff, Keine walks out of her office and closes the sliding door gently leaving the pair in the quiet room. Youmu and Reisen now sit in each other's company, the sour mood extends as the silence continues.

"Ah…Inaba Reisen…"

"No..."

Youmu shoots up and looks at the girl with her head downcasted to the ground.

"Listen to my side!" Youmu pleads.

"No..." But that's the only reply she gets.

Youmu turns the chair and sits back down arms and legs crossed. "Why do you hate the Human Village so much anyway?" she inquires.

"You… don't understand." The rabbit mutters, dejectedly.

"You say that a lot, you know?" Youmu puts her finger to her mouth. "It makes me wonder…If you just don't want others to understand, you."

"Shut up." Not taking kindly to Youmu's psychoanalytic perception. "I just… don't want to have to deal with these people anymore." Her voice trails off in the stale atmosphere of the room.

"I won't pretend to understand you, nor do I really care to." Youmu stands. "You're an impulsive rabbit who acts creepy and has anti-social qualities. Working with someone like you would be a nightmare."

"I don't know if you're trying to piss me off-"

"However, …" Youmu interjects with her finger in the air. "I can admit that… I don't know a thing about you, Inaba Reisen."

"Hm?"

"How am I ever supposed to…. understand if I don't understand you?"

The room grows silent, Reisen keeps her head angled to the floor. With a sigh, the half-ghost admits defeat, walks towards the door and puts her hand on the nob.

"So, if you truly want to give up on finding others who will understand you then so be it. However, I won't allow you to make this decision for me. Not just you, anyone else. So, I will convince Kamishirasawa alone if I must…. because I am no coward."

With her words, she opens the door and exits the room.

The room grows ever more silent now. However, raging in her stomach a certain word sways around through her body. Like poison, it slowly infects her emotions, festering frustration. Now after a seeming lapse of time the emotions seep out of her mouth, formulating into one oppressive word.

"Coward…" Like a needle that word stays firm in her heart. With a clear decision, the Usagi pushes up from the chair. "I… am not a coward. She just doesn't understand how I feel….and I'm tired of it!"

The rabbit races out the door only to trip and fall over as soon as she steps out. Her butt sticks up in the air as her face plants harshly into the wood floor. "Owww…" She gets up to see what she stumbled over. On the side she meets her gaze with the white-haired gardener crouched along the wall, sobbing, mirroring a toddler during a tantrum, face puffy red, with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"A…Are you…crying?" Reisen gets up and leans over the petite girl.

"I-I'm not crying! I'm…just thinking of a way to face Kamishirasawa. I'm just thinking very, very, hard about my word choice! And…it made my eyes water."

Reisen smirks. "You're scared of her, aren't you?"

"Stop teasing me! You don't understand anything, I have to convince her without you…or Master will be real…upset with me!"

Reisen glares at the wailing child. "I guess…we do have some common ground, don't we?"

Youmu's tears slowly dry now focused on the girl ahead.

"No matter what I said to Kamishirasawa, Master would be upset at me too if I couldn't make money for Eientei in the Human Village…"

She crosses her arms. "I hate your guts, you act high and mighty and tend to belittle people without truly knowing who they are. You're no better than a tiny dog with all bark and no bite." Reisen puts both her hands on her hip. "As much as I don't want to…. I'll stay."

Her eyes slant as she flicks her puffy tail and folds her arms. "So, I'm going to prove you wrong. I'll stay for the three-weeks and show you up…Konpaku Youmu."

Youmu's eyes grow wide as she wipes her remaining tears.

"Prove me wrong? About what, you, being a coward?" Youmu giggles. "Now that's a joke."

"Listen half-stuff, just you wait. I'll beat you in anything Kamishirasawa has planned for us!" With that declaration, the Usagi bends down and flicks her rivals nose.

Youmu doesn't take too kindly to that and pushes herself off the wall.

"I'm not short! I'm a proper size for a young lady my age, Inaba Reisen!"

A clap breaks the banter from behind as Keine stands firmly from an open door on the side of them.

"With that settled you two, let's have you both start with your first task for the day."

"Huh?" they both chime in sync.

"We've wasted enough daylight. If I let you fight any longer than we'll be right back to square one. That is the last thing I want to happen."

Kamishirasawa takes out a large piece of paper. "So, with that, here is your first assignment." She lunges the notice to the pair's faces.

"Huh...Huh?!"


	4. Chapter 4

_Writers Notes:_

 _Sorry for my week delay. Work and other life things took away my time to correct the current chapters. Because so I am releasing two chapters_

 _in one this week. Again, you can find the PDF version of the link below. Thank you for the critiques in the early chapters as well. I will continue to work hard on my writings and use them as a reference in future works. Any critiques that will help me improve my writing is more than welcomed._

 _PDF Link:_

h-t-t-p-s-:-/-/-w-w-w-.-m-e-d-i-a-f-i-r-e-.-c-o-m-/-f-i-l-e-/-b-s-j-5-w-c-k-c-3-k-a-s-f-6-h-/-S-o-n-g-%-2-0-f-o-r-%-2-0-m-y-%-2-0-U-s-a-g-i-%-2-0-C-h-a-p-t-e-r-%-2-0-5-.-p-d-f

 _Please remove all "-" in order to access the PDF._

 _Thank you again._

 _Now, onto the tale._

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

"That'll be…three pounds of cucumbers."

Keine snips her tongue against her teeth. "You drive a hard bargain, Kappa. But we need your mathematical and technical skills…So three pounds of cucumbers…an hour isn't too far from right if my calculations from yen to cumbers are accurate."

On the outskirts of the Human Village, Keine Kamishirasawa the school teacher and protector of human's debate in a heated discussion with the tech-savvy, Nitori Kawashiro, the water Kappa. With her short oceanic blue hair and sea green hat bouncing up and down, she faces off with Kamishirasawa. With a pull of her enormous backpack, she lunges forward pressing her case.

"Now paying you in cucumbers may prove a tad difficult especially in those quantities." Keine moans. "Couldn't you just take cash like a normal person and exchange them later for cucumbers?

Nitori lifts her overgrown backpack then pulls off her hat. "Hey, we had a deal! Are you tryin' to screw me?!" The Kappa nibbles her cap in a failed attempt to look emboldened. However, her face glows bright red as she darts her eyes away from Keine's fiercen glare. "T-The only way to ensure I get the quantity I want is to be paid in full for my services." The Kappa pouts.

"I understand your ideology in this matter but frankly, it's outrageous."

Waiting patiently under a widespread tree, the pair of troublemakers watch from the distance as Keine continues haggles with the water Kappa. The sun beats harshly in the warm autumn day.

"They've been going back and forth for half an hour now." The half-ghost wines as her spirit circles around her.

"Be patient…we have nothing else to do anyway, half-ghost." Reisen crosses her arms standing upright.

"I wonder if she's seriously going to make us work for this Kappa of all people. I bet she's going to make us do all crazy sorts of things." Youmu exhales. "I want to go home…"

After a moment of silence, the gardener glances to Reisen who has her head angled away from her. Her eyes are closed but her posture reveals a slight tension to the swordsman.

"Is something the matter?" Youmu tilts her head.

"Those people…are looking at us."

Reisen gears her head towards a few humans. They seem to be waiting for Keine to finish her deal with the Kappa as well.

"One of them looks like the shop owner from the vegetable market we slammed into from the sky…" Reisen sighs in irritation. "They're glaring at us…it's starting to bug me."

"Well, you did destroy their business."

"Hey, we both did that. Stop putting this all on me!"

"Deal!" in a boisterous voice the Kappa shakes hands with Keine, solidifying the deal. Kamishirasawa nods and then approaches the half-ghost and bunny.

"Alright you two, Nitori Kawashiro is going to rebuild all the food stands from earlier with a few… new modifications. However, being a Kappa Youkai and all, she refuses to work inside the village filled with humans, she rather take her materials elsewhere." Keine groans.

"I'm not liking the sound of this already…" Youmu crosses her arms.

"We're running at a rate of five pounds of cucumbers an hour and some yen as change. Your jobs will be to provide any support for the Kappa."

"It went up?!" the pair sings, surprised.

"She drives a hard bargain…"

"And the catch?" Reisen mutters.

Keine takes a deep breath. "She's going to build the stands…however getting them from the forest to the human village..."

"Are you serious?!" Youmu squeals. "Why can't she just build them inside the village instead?"

"I just told you, she refuses to budge any closer to this town while making these stalls." The overworked teacher rubs her head. "She seems to have a complex about working in the village the entire day and feels more comfortable in solitude not bothered by too many humans."

Kamishirasawa bites her lip. "But she won't hesitate to sell anything from stalls during festivals. That Nitori Kawashiro can be so wishy-washy."

With that she claps her hands then takes out a large document.

"Okay, you two. Here is an outline of what she's building." She lies the plans on the grass. On the paper, a neatly designed stall along with calculations on the side is shown.

"In the aftermath of your battle the previous day you both destroyed roughly twenty-six of them."

"Twenty-six!" The half-ghost shrieks.

"That is…quite a lot." Reisen weighs her head, dejectedly.

"Now listen closely." Keine puts her finger in the air. The two bends down to get a better look.

"Kawashiro is making all these stalls portable for easy movement. Each stall will have two wheels on each side for easy access from her workstation to the village. There is a wooden support beam that you will harness yourself into. From there all you need to do is pull the food stall to the Human Village. Each trip is around 1.6km and should take you around ten minutes to and fro if you both work together." Keine nods pompously. "So, we're looking at around…four or five hours of work to be finished."

"I can do that in my sleep!" The swordsman declares proudly.

"How heavy are they to lug around?" The cottontail's ears perk up and swing to the side with her head.

"Around 54 to 55kg or so."

"That's quite heavy…"

"Yes, that's why I suggest that you two work together and take them one at a time. If you both pull from the front the entire way and fly back, you may even finish early. Now, are there any questions?" Keine cranks her head back and forth. "None, alright I'll be back before dawn to relieve you two of your duties. No slacking. This is a punishment in the end."

"Yes, Ms. Kamishirasawa." Youmu slumps her arms.

After a brief goodbye, Keine and the remaining humans begin their journey back to the Human Village.

"Hey, Rabbit, Phantom, I got your first stall up and ready!"

The pair jog over to a miraculous sight, a brand-new wheel cart stall like the ones from the other day. However, the interior seems to have a fine technical cooking station that feels almost foreign to the two. Nitori rubs her nose, impressed with her work.

"Now, get a move on! I got more to make and you both are on my workstation. Kamishirasawa refused to pay me overtime too."

Youmu steps up to the plate and slips her body through the harness. The long-wooded cylinder piece press firmly up against her breast. "I'll get this one. You get the next."

"Hey, weren't you listening to Ms. Kamishirasawa? She said we should work together."

Youmu rubs her nose. "Is 55kg too much for the bunny to handle? I'm quick on my feet and you would just slow me down. I rather we both work at our own pace, so we can get our job finished as efficiently as possible."

Reisen's left eye twitches. "First of all, 55kg ain't nothing for me. Second, you have a point, but I still think it's a bad idea- "

"The second stall is complete!"

They both turn to see a fully functional stall replicated perfectly to the one Youmu sits in now.

"Hey slackers, my job isn't done until you two finish yours. Stop lugging around and start moving your muscles!" Nitori holds up a wrench at a failed attempt to make herself look taller.

"Alright!" Youmu chimes then rushes off. "Later, Lunar Rabbit!" The stall sways back and forth as she sets off towards the Human Village.

"Oh, it's a challenge, is it?" Reisen harnesses herself to the next one and with all her might pulls the beast along with her. "I won't lose to someone like you!" With determination pulling her spirit, Reisen gallops off in the same fashion.

Nitori sits up mid-way into her third stall. "H-Hey don't move so fast with those!" she screams but her words echo in vain.

* * *

Youmu on cruise control gets into a rhythm with a smile on her face. "Hm, I might be able to get home just in time for dinner. Who knows, I might even make the meal at this rate."

An abrupt thump like a mini-quake vibrates the ground. Youmu tilts her head then suddenly a large beast roars passed her. Only the fluffy ears of the Usagi are seen behind the massive stall covering her body.

"Huh?!" Youmu jolts then hustles to her now neck to neck with one another.

"I didn't think you'd actually have the strength to do something like this." Youmu chuckles.

"Trying to leave me in the dust?"

"Not really trying because I know I will." With that, the gardener sprints off like a racer in a relay.

"Hold right there!" Reisen takes the challenge head-on and speeds up running like a hare on fire.

The rivals get neck to neck once again. Youmu flashes a smile and ups her speed at an astronomical rate. The constant vibration of the wood hitting the ground can be heard in the distance as they near the village.

"Dang, she's too fast on her feet." Reisen bites her lip. "She's gonna win at this rate." At that, Reisen speeds up slowly gaining on her tail.

"Trying to win against me in a race? How foolish." Youmu chuckles, at high speed. However, the stall retort as it smashes harshly against a tiny rock laying conveniently on the road. The clip of the rock under her right wheel causes the stand to pop up in the air. Youmu comes to a halt falling over face first from the sudden friction. The entire stand flips over with a cry comparable to a dragon roaring. Only with quick thinking does Youmu roll to the side just as the would-be store bust from the impact. Metallic and wooden guts scatter the area like a bomb exploding, taking its fragments with it.

"Ep!" Reisen cries as she tries to stop but her feet give way, tripping over the large wood pieces scattered about. Her stand, however, doesn't flip upwards but angles to the side and crashes down on top of the pile. The rabbit's body wedges down in the rubble.

"Owww…." She cries.

Youmu crawls out from underneath barely missing out on becoming a part of the horrendous scene. "Myon...Myon…." she cries in agony.

Reisen buries her head on her lap and begins to weep. "Ms. Kamishirasawa's going to kill us. We're gonna die, we're so dead." tears rolling down her cheeks.

Youmu stands up and surveys the area. The spot looks like a battlefield, the two of them being the last survivors.

"Maybe we can take the parts back to Nitori, so she can salvage them?" Youmu suggest.

"She'll likely tell Kamishirasawa and that would be the end for us. We're not on her good side right now, half-pint." Reisen's ears droop. "I knew I shouldn't have done this. Why do I have to be so impulsive sometimes?" she bites on her thumb nail.

"Well standing around won't solve anything. I say we tell her. It's better we be honest about our failure."

"I say we hide it in the bushes and walk away. We still have twenty-four more of these to lug around."

"But the numbers will be off in the end. Nitori isn't stupid and Kamishirasawa will realize what happened sooner or later. It's best we fess up now."

"Tsk, that noble, forward pride got us in this situation in the first place." The lunatic mutters under her breath.

"You mumble a lot but it's so loud everyone can hear you." Youmu crosses her arms. "You should work on that!"

Reisen stands up and confronts the half-ghost. "Stop judging me." She puts her finger to Youmu's nose. With a huff, she swings her hair and stomps back towards Nitori's workshop.

"H-Hey where do you think you're going?"

"We have work to do and all you can think about is your high integrity!" She puffs her cheeks. "So, I'm going to complete the rest of this assignment without you!"

With a flip of her puffy tail, the lunar rabbit flies off, leaving Youmu in the dust.

"Fine…I'll clean all this up alone!" She screams. Her phantom half swirls in frustration as she begins picking up the shattered food carts.

"Where's Konpaku Youmu?" Nitori standing next to three more completed stalls questions the rabbit.

* * *

"She had an accident so she's busy with that. But don't worry everything's well."

The Kappa suspiciously tilts her head and ponders for a moment. "Well…I would appreciate it if you two sped it up a little. At this rate, I'll be done before you guys are on your last stall. I don't want to have to start picking up these heavy things too, ya' know?"

Reisen rubs the back of her neck. "Yeah, yeah I get it." With that, she takes hold of the next stalls harness and starts moving towards the opposite way than before.

"Hey, why are you headed that way? The Human Village's trail is the other direction."

Reisen puts a thumb up and winks at the mechanic. "Shortcut!" then jogs off leaving the Kappa behind.

"Shortcut? ..." Nitori nods. "Guess I'll have to make an extra food stall or two at this rate." She sighs. With a wrench in hand, she continues tinkering with her project.

After a brief silence period, Youmu the ghost comes lugging in carrying two large pieces of wood.

"Kawashiro…" She whines as she drops the pieces to the ground. Nitori looks up shocked, she drops her tools and runs over.

"What happened?!" She shrieks.

"I was moving too fast and the entire stall flipped upside down…Then that no good Usagi landed hers right on top of mine. She even left me to clean the mess!"

The water Kappa sighs. "I knew this would happen. You know, if you two would have followed Kamishirasawa's advice from the beginning this wouldn't have happened!" She scolds.

"I'm sorry…" Dejected, Youmu gets on the ground in a dogeza bow.

"H-Hey you don't have to go that far. I'll build two more. That's no problem."

"Kawashiro!"

Shocked, the Kappa mechanically turns towards the east to see the rabbit hopping back in the scene. Her eyes swollen carrying a large piece of wood. "It just tipped over…I tried to catch it but…"

Depressed, the bunny crawls to Nitori's side in a bow, dogeza style, just like her half-ghost counterpart.

Nitori puts her hands over her face and screams internally.

Now back in order, both Youmu and Reisen strapped to one stall per Nitori's command.

"Now you both need to pull your own weight. Keep the balance between one another, that way it won't sway so easy. The problem the last times was stability. With two bodies it's far more stable. Don't move too quick, this isn't a race.

"Right…"

"Now off with you! This Kappa has three more extra stalls to build now. And I ain't getting paid more cucumbers to do more work!"

With that, Youmu puts her best foot forward and Reisen face plants into the ground.

"Ah!"

"Give me a heads up before you move…Ouch."

Youmu slumps her body. "This is going to take longer than I thought."

"Okay…" Reisen now on her feet. "Let's move!"

They both march off at a casual speed. Nitori watches the pair head towards the Human Village then shakes her head… "Those two…" …then continues working.

The trees rustle in the wind, the wildlife blissfully swings across the solemn day as the two moves at a rhythm, trumping along in silence.

"Nnnnggg…Hey, can you slow down a little?" The rabbit pleads.

"Sorry..." Youmu lessens her speed. But in turn, she is forced to take wider steps to keep up with the taller Usagi.

"This feels awkward, couldn't you have just stepped it up to match my pace? It's hard when our heights are so different. "The ash-haired ghost complains.

"Fine, I'll slow down."

Now moving the speed equal to a slug, the two's frustration starts to build.

"This isn't working out…" The gardener complains. "There has to be a better way to do this. At this rate, Kawashiro will finish and we haven't even got one stall to the village."

Reisen's ears flicker as she starts to think. "I have an idea."

"Really?" Youmu tilts her head.

"Here, you take hold of the front. I'm going to support the weight from the back." Reisen flies on top of the slowly moving stall and sits down with a sigh of relief.

"Wait a minute…"

"What?"

"You're just being lazy now." Youmu barks. "Get back down here!"

"I'm helping support the weight. You did say I was slowing you down just now." The Usagi sticks out her tongue.

Youmu clicks her tongue back at her. "You are hopeless." She lifts the harness up. "Fine, I'll show you just how much you've been _slowing me down_!"

With that threat, she takes a stance and pulls out a spell card.

"Whatcha doin' half-pint?!" Reisen's eyes glow.

"Yojana in a Flash!"

Breaking the sound barrier Youmu burst across the trail making her way to the Human Village in a blink of the eye. With the long-wooded cylinder harness piece still in hand, she turns back with a smirk. However, the stall lies in pieces…scattered along the road, seemingly torn apart by the speed of her spell card. Back in the place, the action took off, Reisen lies on the ground in a defeated daze.

* * *

Dawn breaks as Youmu and Reisen finish cleaning up their 1.6km mess.

"I've been done for hours now. Where the heck have you two-"

In their arms, a load of broken wood, both faces plastered with shame and defeat.

"What happened?!" Nitori shouts.

Youmu falls to the ground and Reisen takes after, both sprawled out looking at the daisy clouds. Keine obstructs their view with a common scowl on her face.

"Have you two learned your lesson?"

Neither respond, they just wait for their punishment to be thrown out patiently.

"This mayhem you two ensued put the village back an entire day for the festival. They were not able to prepare their goods for the shops that they expected to have hours in advance. All because you both couldn't put your petty differences aside."

Reisen and Youmu glance at one another then quietly dart their gaze away.

"We'll try again tomorrow. That is also the last chance I'll give you to get it right. You're excused, go clean yourselves up, you both look pitiful."

"Hey Kamishirasawa, am I getting paid tomorrow too?!"

"Hush you greedy Kappa!"

Their voices grow distant as the two silently stare up at the daisy sky. However, in their view, another person obstructs the beautiful firmament.

"Hey, you two." Her white hair flows causing a larger shadow to cast." Mokou searches around then looks back down.

"Keine might seem mean, she can even appear to be intimidating but..." Mokou sighs. "She's only doing this for you two in the end."

Reisen stares blankly but her lips slowly move. "Yeah, right…" she mutters.

"I'm serious. You two have no idea how angry the village's people were after the stunt you both pulled." Mokou insists as she gazes to the side. "I believe she feels partly responsible for not preventing this outcome."

She then looks directly towards them. "However, she feels she pled until the village's seniors agreed to your service as a recompense." Mokou's eyes fire with determination. "So, if she's going through all the trouble to help you…I think it's only fair you do the same for her." With a nod, she looks up at the sky. "So please, help Keine out. She may act self-reliant, but I know for sure that she's struggling right now. She's always been one to help those in need…Youkai or not, no matter how much it hurt her."

Without waiting for their reply, Mokou takes to the skies, soaring back to the isolated forest she's known ever so well.

The girls defeated, sits up in silence. The area around them filled to the brim with a forest of food carts ready to be filled with goods.

The bunny turns to the half-ghost who blankly gazes at the sky unable to read her stoic expression. "Let's get out of here." Youmu sighs getting to her feet, ready to lift off.

"Ah…" Reisen speaks as she raises to her feet.

"Huh?" Youmu turns around in mid-air, the dawn sky cast a fiery flare across the land.

"Mmm…Never mind." She puts her head down.

With that, Youmu turns back around and soars back towards her home.

"I'll…see you tomorrow," Reisen mutters to herself then takes off leaving the army of carts behind.

"See you tomorrow…huh?"

From the other side of the clearing, a simple Youkai with wings like a bird, ready to set up her food stand marches in the area. "Ehp?!" The overwhelming number of carts take her by surprise.

"Oh, no!" The songbird checks the stands one by one in fear and trembling. The high-tech grills, refrigeration systems built within, temperature gauges and other otherworldly creations make her heart drop to her stomach.

"At this rate…if this many people start doing my job…I'll go out of business! The Mystia Lorelei food cart will be no more!" With salty tears muddying her face, Mystia Lorelei runs away, wailing all the way through the night forest.


	5. Chapter 5

_Writers Notes:_

 _Sorry for my week delay. Work and other life things took away my time to correct the current chapters. Because so I am releasing two chapters_ _in one this week. Again, you can find the PDF version of the link below. Thank you for the critiques in the early chapters as well. I will continue to work hard on my writings and use them as a reference in future works. Any critiques that will help me improve my writing is more than welcomed._

 _PDF Link:_

h-t-t-p-s-:-/-/-w-w-w-.-m-e-d-i-a-f-i-r-e-.-c-o-m-/-f-i-l-e-/-b-s-j-5-w-c-k-c-3-k-a-s-f-6-h-/-S-o-n-g-%-2-0-f-o-r-%-2-0-m-y-%-2-0-U-s-a-g-i-%-2-0-C-h-a-p-t-e-r-%-2-0-5-.-p-d-f

 _Please remove all "-" in order to access the PDF._

 _Thank you again._

 _Now, onto the tale._

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

"Missing?"

"Yes, missing…"

Keine leans back in her chair and ponders the information she's just received.

"So, let me reiterate, last night one of my students went out without their parents' permission and haven't turned up this morning? Is there a chance that a Youkai is involved with this girl's disappearance? "

Mokou nods. Her long locks flip up and down. "It's…likely but we can't be sure." She then leans up against the wall of the door. "That's why we ask that you help with the search. Anything could have happened but I'm hoping it's just a simple case of _the child got lost_."

"I see." Keine nods in agreement. "Time is of the essence. We will form a small search party at once. No matter what, we will bring this child back into the arms of their parents."

"Oh, that's right…you have classes soon, don't you?"

Kamishirasawa scowls and bites her lip. "I will have to cancel; this matter is quite important."

"Actually…" Mokou raises her finger. "I think I have a better idea."

"Huh?" The teacher questions as her ears perk up at Mokou's request.

Konpaku Youmu, the phantom floats down from the skies landing gently in front of the school. Now the base of operations, she sits outside the door awaiting her next task set by their commander, Keine Kamishirasawa.

"Morning…" Inaba Reisen glides down next to her and leans against the wall.

"Morning…" Their greetings as dry as a bone.

The sky is clear, and the birds are chirping loudly, even the insects are buzzing louder than the pairs breathing. The intense awkward moment only strengthens while they wait for their next orders to be given.

Warily, Youmu turns to the side, searching the slender rabbit. Her indigo hair flows gently in the open air. Before she realized it, the half-ghost opens her mouth but before words have a chance to escape, she shuts it once again and looks towards the side, away from the Usagi.

Even so, she glances back to Reisen who stares squarely at the sky as if it's speaking to her. Her lips mutter about, likely speaking to herself on a matter and haven't become self-aware yet. However, she stops soon enough. As Youmu steals a glance or two she notices her snow-white arms are exposed, unlike the previous days when she had her dark purple jersey on. Now with this new information, she opens up once again in an attempt to break the silence.

"You're not wearing your jacket?" Youmu ponders.

"It's too hot." Still searching the sky, Reisen replies half-heartedly.

"I see." Abruptly, the comment falls flat, as the silence persisted.

The phantom kneels to the ground and picks up a small stick. She then starts drawing in the dirt. First a smiley face then she adds three long whiskers on each side. Growing unsure of her abilities she erases the U-shaped mouth and adds a triangle to the nose. On the right side, the artist draws a circle for a makeshift _message box_ and writes out the words: _Me'yow'n._

"Pff!" Reisen spits, gagging on the force shooting from her stomach.

"Eh?!" Youmu turns and quickly erases her creation.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh."

"You really are a bully…" Dejected, Youmu turns away cheeks puffed like a blowfish.

Unsure, the bunny closes her eyes and faces the other direction. With an exhale the silence continues. She presses her lips together and puts her hand on her temple. The moment grows stiff as those words rummage through the Usagi's head. _"…Bully huh?"_ A soft cry escapes her mouth. " _This is awkward…"_ Reisen battles in her head. " _…am I really a bully?"_

Youmu holds the stick close to her chest, tightly. Her eyes glance back at the rabbit now searching back to the sky with a solemn frown. "Mmh…." Her cheeks deflate. Under her breath, she mutters. _"Was that…a bit mean?"_ But her voice fails to reach out any louder than a mouse's horsed squeak. _"I have to remember…she is a little anti-social. Maybe that's why it's so hard to start a conversation with her."_ Youmu sighs. " _Maybe calling her a bully…was a bit unkind."_

In unison, the two moans.

"With all that sighing you both will make me depressed." Fujiwara no Mokou steps out the door along with Keine. Hand in her pocket with a smirk. "Good morning, are you two feeling better?"

"Yes…" the girls chime in harmony again.

"I'll get right to the chase. Somethings come up and Mokou and I will be away from the village until this matter is settled."

Reisen cocks her head to the side. "Does that mean we're free to leave today?"

Mokou moans "As much as we would have liked for that to be the case we have other plans for you two." Her face grows stern. "A child from this village went missing last night. There's a chance that she may have been caught by a Youkai away from the watchful eyes of others."

Youmu's expression grows paler than her usual complexion. "I see. That's unfortunate."

"But we don't know for sure…realistically that's the case, however." Mokou continues. "Keine and I are going out in search of information about the child's disappearance."

"So, would you like us to help?" Reisen's eyes perk up. "Is that why you want us here?"

Keine sighs harshly. "No, Mokou and I can handle this task. Too many people investigating the same incident can cause a problem." Her face grows flush and a tad red. "Today…I have classes…and no one to substitute for my absence."

"Eh?" They chime in accord a third time.

"You two are on quite the roll today." Mokou chuckles.

"You want us to substitute for you?" The gardener expresses her concern, approaching slightly.

"If you would. The lesson is simple mathematics. The hardest part is the division, but that's child's play for people your age. With the both of you…" Keine groans harshly again. "I beg…you two…"

Keine takes a deep bow, one lower than Youmu or Reisen has ever seen her do.

"My students need my teachings. So please, as a teacher would you do me this favor?"

Youmu turns to Reisen and the cottontail does the same. Their eyes meet then abruptly glance to the side away from one another.

"Yeah, I'll do it." Konpaku shyly nods.

"Me…too." With her hands behind her back, the rabbit follows suit.

Kamishirasawa lifts her head with a soft smile. One Youmu and Reisen have never seen her give. From the day of the incident between them, the only look that's completed her features were those of irritation and disappointment. But it seems those emotions are a distant memory of the expression she gives today.

"Thank you, Konpaku Youmu, Inaba Reisen."

Keine turns around and reaches in a hefty bag behind her. She brings out a small stack of books and a nicely wrapped bright pink round bag the size of a melon.

"Ah, what's in the bag? It smells sweet."

The teachers face twist in a shameful pout. "Home…made…. cookies for the children. Today was a special day. I promised to give them those if they all completed their assignments."

Reisen picks up the bag and sniffs it. "They smell delicious. I'm sure they'll love them, Ms. Kamishirasawa." The rabbit beams. "We'll make sure to give them to the children in your stead.

"R-right." Keine nods with enough force to drop her hat to the ground. She hastily picks it up and turns back to the pair. "O-Oh and it doesn't matter much to me but…ah…make sure they know it's from me. I-I did promise them and all and I would- "

Youmu halts her flustered movements with one stop hand gesture. "Don't worry, we understand, Ms. Kamishirasawa." With a warm smile, the gardener tilts her head slightly. A warm breeze of the morning takes over as her hair flows in the wind as if welcoming her the same fresh beam Keine offered moments ago.

"We need to get going, Keine." Mokou interjects.

"Yes, we must. Konpaku Youmu, Inaba Reisen, the schedule is written on the side of the blackboard. Follow it and everything will be just fine." With the last words of a teacher declared, Keine and Mokou lift off towards the sky. The pair watch as they disappear in the distance.

"Hm…I guess even Kamishirasawa can smile." The half-ghost humor.

"Yeah, who would have thought." The bunny then turns around and waltz into the building. Konpaku perks up and make way behind her.

As the time strikes 9 am, Youmu gallops from one end of the classroom to the next preparing the diligent studies Keine neatly placed out for them. Preparations almost ready, Reisen takes a deep breath and brings out two large mathematic books handed over by Keine.

"So, which one of us is teaching?" The bunny questions.

"Hm, how about you?" Youmu suggest.

"I knew you'd put me on the spot." With a breath, she slumps her arms. "I mean…I can do it but…"

Youmu tilts her head and then deliberates. She gazes at Reisen's reactions and reaches her conclusion. "Are you bad with public speaking?"

"It's not really that…I just…" The bunny plays with her long violet hair. "…I don't like being the center of attention." The rabbit plops down in her chair. "It…bothers me."

Youmu puts her hand on her bottom lip and contemplates more. " _I see…I guess I didn't realize that."_ Internally, she debates with her past actions.

"How about we both teach together then?"

"Huh?" Her ears perk up.

"Well I'm not the best at public speaking but I'm sure if we both were up at the same time it would be less stressful." Youmu scratches the side of her face. "That's if…you'd like that is."

The bunny bites her thumb nail and ponders softly. _"You're asking me for my input? That's rich."_

Reisen shakes her head removing the negative thoughts that just seeped out. "Sorry…I think that's a great idea. Ignore what I said earlier."

"No worries." Youmu giggles then stride to the other side of the room to rummage through the drawers.

" _That's new…Maybe she feels bad for yesterday?"_ The lunatic crosses her arms. " _Regardless…this atmosphere is still…awkward."_

"Ha-ha, I found them!" Youmu shouts in victory.

"What?"

"Rulers! You can't be a teacher without one. Here's yours." Youmu holds out the wooden stick of power to the Usagi.

"Pff…"

"Huh, why are you laughing?!"

"It's nothing." Reisen chuckling accepts the gift, graduating to teacher status in the process.

" _A ruler makes me a teacher?"_ The thought keeps a grin on the bunny's face. _"This girl has the appearance of someone stern and stoic but…she's quite childish, isn't she? Just like her Master, Yuyuko told me days ago..."_

Suddenly, the sliding door swings open as a flood of children come filtering in the classroom. A few stops with questionable expressions taking their assign seats as usual. The ages from appearance range from six years to ten years old. Even a few Youkai children gather in the classroom.

"Where's Ms. Kamishirasawa?" A lime green haired fairy with a bright yellow ribbon holding up her side ponytail is the first to gain the courage to ask. With her hand behind her back and a soft smile filtered with innocents, she clenches her fist and presses on. "My name is Daiyousei, is Ms. Kamishirasawa sick today?"

"No, it's nothing like that. "Reisen answers. "She had important matters to attend to, so we are going to take over for her just for today."

"Ah, we should introduce ourselves." Youmu puts her ruler up high.

"We'll explain everything once the class is filled, Daiyousei, was it?" Reisen turns to the half-ghost. "That way we won't have to do it to every person we see, Konpaku."

"Ah, I guess you're right." With a rub of her hair, she agrees. _"Hm, so this rabbit can be reliable at times?"_

"Hehe, alright!" The fairy gives a gleeful beam then rushes back to a desk near the front.

"Ms. Kamishirasawa! I can explain why I didn't finish my homework today!" Bursting through the crowd of some fifteen students now, a well-known Ice Fairy makes her way to the front.

"Ya' see, there was this big ol' rock and it was sitting right in front of my home, so I couldn't get inside all _last night_. Then, I decided to go and sleep with Mystia instead. When I came back the next day the rock moved, and I could get inside…or…something …like that." The fairy closes her eyes and ponders. "Now how was this lie supposed to go?" She contemplates.

"Ah…" Confused, Reisen tilts her head.

Youmu whispers in her ear. "This fairy is Cirno. She's known to be _really stupid._ So, take everything she says with a grain of salt."

"Hey, where's Ms. Kamishirasawa?" The fairy finally realizing the situation is abnormal she cuts into Youmu's whispers. With a huff, she continues. "Why are a bunny and that half-ghost freak here? Was my lie for nothing?!"

"Hey!"

"Cirno, come take your seat." Daiyousei waves the confused friend over.

Still puzzled the ice fairy glances up at the Usagi and phantom then ultimately runs over and takes her seat next to the great fairy. They begin to chat idly as the rest of the class filters in totaling a sum of sixteen children. The pair makes their way to the front of the blackboard. Reisen looks frantically at the lengthy, meticulous notes that the former sensei left in their wake. Everything timed to the minute of what they need to cover.

"Hey, Konpaku…"

"Yes?"

"It seems class started over ten minutes ago…from what Kamishirasawa's notes imply."

"Ah, really?! Then we have to get going!" With that, she takes out her ruler and smacks it lightly on the front podium.

"Ah, good morning class." In a sophisticated tone, her voice vibrates across the room. "My name is Konpaku Youmu."

"Pff." The bunny kneels over.

"W-why do you keep laughing at me, Inaba Reisen?!"

"Oh, it's nothing really. It's just… you sounded like you've practiced that all night or something." With a smug look, she follows suit turning to the class. "And my name is Inaba Reisen. We will be teaching you for today. Your teacher had urgent matters to attend to."

A hand is raised from the middle of the class her antenna wiggling back and forth.

"Ah, I remember you. Yes, Wriggle?" Youmu points with the ruler.

"Where is Ms. Kamishirasawa? Is everything all right?"

"You don't have to worry about it. She should be back by tomorrow." Youmu acknowledges with one hand on her hip. "Well now, let's begin our lesson, shall we?"

"Yes!" The class echoes.

"Hm, next is…basic math practice. Sheets are found under the podium." The phantom reads the list.

Reisen looks underneath and finds a large stack of math problems.

"Okay, pass these pages back to the next person." She then looks back at the board to read the rest.

"It seems the class has…five minutes to complete this handout. Ah!" She looks back under and finds a stopwatch with the insignia that reads: _"Nitori Industries"_ on the back. "Wow, Kamishirasawa really is meticulous. It's almost scary."

Cirno grumbles. "Aw, I hate these." Her face contorts as if the paper is poison to her skin.

"It's okay Cirno, nobody really expects much of you anyway." Daiyousei pets her friend on the back.

"Hey bunny, can't you just like…not give us these today?"

Reisen eyes the fairy. "Hey, show me some respect. I'm your teacher right now, call me Ms. Inaba."

"Whatever, I don't want to do it." Cirno drops the paper to the floor.

The lunatics shine a fake smile. "Oh, you're a troubled child, aren't you?"

"Now Inaba, don't let her provoke you." Youmu steps in front and picks up her paper. "Cirno, don't be difficult."

"But I don't wanna, you can't make me!" Stubborn as a mule she lies her head on the desk.

"If you don't want to do it then sit there and be quiet," Youmu suggest.

Cirno's face puffs up and she crosses her arms.

Reisen turns to Youmu. "Hey, I could have handled that myself. I didn't need your help."

Youmu's face smug with a grin at the bunny. "I think I have far more experience with this sort of thing than you, Inaba. Children might be my specialty."

Reisen puts her hands on her hip. "I have to literally deal with three kids all day long. A little backlash from a stupid fairy ain't nothing."

"You haven't spent a single day with Master Yuyuko. She'll make your princess and master look like angels with her impulsive, whimsical behavior. These children are a godsend compared to her.

Reisen sticks her finger to Youmu's nose. "Just don't try to tell me how to teach." Her temple flares.

"Are you two fighting?" Daiyousei, timidly interrupts her head tilted slightly. "I don't think grownups should fight like this."

Caught red-handed the pair look at the class now focused intently on the two.

"N-no not at all!" Reisen's the first to reply.

"We…We're just discussing how we should go to this class. That's all!" Youmu interjects.

"Is that so?!" In the back of the room a girl with bright blonde hair and two arms sticking one hundred eighty degrees outward chimes in. With her black dress and a white smile showing her demonic like teeth her eyes glimmer with excitement.

"That is so!" Reisen replies with a beam. "Now…who are you? Did you just come in?"

"I got lost so I'm a little late. My name is Rumia!"

"I told you to follow us to class, Rumia. But you insisted that you could do it yourself." Wriggle shakes her head back to back.

"Ms. Bunny, I have a question!" Rumia raises her hand.

"Ms. Bunny? Huh...Ah, yes?"

"Ms. Kamishirasawa wouldn't tell me yesterday so…"

"Now is not the time for that, Rumia!" The great fairy exclaims. It seems the other classmates are in accord with Daiyousei's request.

"Huh? What's the question?" Youmu speaks over the crowd.

"Ms. Ghost, don't encourage her!" Her face tints a red dye. "That subject, even I don't know much about it…but if Ms. Kamishirasawa said not to worry about those things until we get older then I won't!"

However, Rumia with a great big smile persists. "How does a baby get in a mommy's tummy?! Does she eat it?" Her sharp teeth shine innocently.

Daiyousei blushes profusely.

"Oh! That kind of question." The phantom lunges back.

"We've been over this!" Cirno stands up proudly on the desk. "The mommy eats a baby seed and it grows in her tummy!"

"Get off the desk!"

Now the class begins the heated discussion. Where does the baby seed come from? Like expert scholars, the class discusses all kinds of scenarios. From it being grown from a pumpkin patch to more methodical ideas like cabbage patches and even corn fields.

" _W-Well, she's not too far off."_ Blushing, Reisen bites her thumb nail.

Youmu signals Reisen over. "The kids are getting off topic, what are we going to do?"

"Hm, well because of that Rumia Youkai they're on this procreation kick. We'll have to steer the conversation in another direction."

A light bulb shines in the ghost's head. "O-Okay, everyone!" Youmu taps on the blackboard.

"How do you make a baby?!" Rumia shouts in frustration.

With a wry smile as fake as can be Youmu in a shriveled voice continues. "W-We have a present for anyone who finishes the math paper!"

" _We do?"_ Reisen questions.

"Shh…."

"A present?!" Cirno shouts. "Give me the paper! I'll finish it lickadee split

With that, the class forgets about the current heated debate and start on the paper. Youmu and Reisen fall to a seat on the wall. The tick of the timer overshadows the scratching of the pencil to paper.

"Teaching…is exhausting." They cry in harmony.

"Well Konpaku, what are you going to give them as a present?"

"I dunno…maybe these cookies?" She holds up the bag.

Reisen jolts up. "That's a great idea."

A ding is heard from the stopwatch and all the children line up to the front. Youmu opens the bag and reveals freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

"Wow! Cookies!" Daiyousei cries as she reaches for one.

"Ms. Bunny and Ms. Ghost are the best teachers!"

"Mmm! So good!"

"Yay!"

The children all jump for joy at the delicious sweet.

"Hey! It's time for recess!"

Reisen searches the clock and reveals the time well past 10:30. "Oh my god, we're never going to get through all the material Kamishirasawa wanted!"

The group of children all runs out in front of the school. Cirno and the rest of team 9 also take off in front with balls in their hands. Reisen and Youmu stand on the wall and watch from the distance. The group of play children bounces around without a care in the world.

"Daiyousei, over here!" Rumia holds her hands up as Daiyousei passes the ball. It bounces on her head knocking her to the ground. Wriggle takes this chance, flips in the air and grabs it.

"Hehe, you're out!" Cirno screams.

"What game are they playing?" Youmu watches eagerly to see the next play.

"Don't know…"

"Aren't you curious?"

"We don't have time to play games though. We're already falling behind on the classes schedule." With a nod, she turns around. "I'm going to go prepare the next lesson." Without another word, Reisen walks back into the classroom.

Irritated she watches the rabbit disappear into the school. "Tsk, she's always so moody." Youmu annoyed. sits on the ground. "I'll…just watch it alone then."

Daiyousei gets hit square in the head. Wriggle flips up in the air and catches the ball once again.

"Wow, Wriggle's on a roll!" One of the kids screams at her skills.

"I guess I'm out." Disappointed, Daiyousei walks over and sits next to her new teacher, Ms. Ghost.

"Hm…" Youmu stares at the group of children playing so effortlessly.

"Hey…Ah, Ms. Ghost?"

"Yes, Daiyousei?"

"Are you and Ms. Bunny having another fight?"

"Huh?" Surprised, Youmu lunges back. "Ah…What do you mean?"

"Well, you look upset."

Youmu bitterly looks down. "Do I?"

"When I have a fight with a friend…I try to settle it as fast as possible." Daiyousei stares at her group. "I…never want to hurt my friend's feelings."

"But she's not…my friend." Youmu grumbles.

"Huh?" The great fairy ponders. "Why? You two seem very similar."

"Similar? How so?"

"I dunno…You both seem very good at taking care of us kids. You're nice but can be strict too. I think you two would be great friends because you're so similar."

The great fairy lifts her finger up. "However, maybe…it's because you both are _so similar_ that…you can't get along?"

"Reisen and I…are similar?" Youmu slumps her shoulders. "Reisen is erratic, mean and quarrelsome…And I can never tell what she's thinking…but… "

Her head falls slightly. "…I don't know. That's a good question, Daiyousei. It's not that I think she's a bad person…" She turns to the side shielding her expression. "Maybe…I just don't know how to approach someone like her."

Daiyousei listens intently to the ghost's feelings rummaging through her words. But unlike her previous childlike response, the great fairy doesn't try to answer her question. From experience of meeting new people, she's come to realize that matters like these aren't easy to fix with someone else giving you the answer. So instead, she puts her hand on Youmu's shoulder. The teacher turns to the shorter fairy now comforting her sensei.

"It'll be okay, okay?"

Youmu returns her kindness with a plop of her palm on her head, rubbing her hair back and forth. "Geez, thanks. You really are sweet, Daiyousei."

"You're outta' here!" The ice fairy shouts.

Reisen exits the classroom just in time for the game to reach its climax.

"No, I'm not! I clearly caught the ball!" Wriggle crosses her arms. "So, I'm still in!"

"You can't catch your own ball! That's against the rules!" Cirno mocks with her hands on her hips.

Reisen's ears twitch. "What are they fighting about?"

"I dunno…" Youmu stands up.

"Stop making rules up as you go! You always cheat like this Cirno, and I'm sick of it!"

The harsh sound of the branches and trees start to shake. In the breeze the feeling of small pellets rubbing against Youmu's skin causes her to flinch." The familiar sensation makes the swordswoman stand to her feet, readily.

"Ah, kids, everyone gets inside the school!" Youmu barks. The other students make haste forming a line and filter into the safety of the building.

Reisen starts to approach, her eyes glow bright red. However, Youmu reaches and grabs a hold of her hand.

"Huh? What are you doing, they're about to battle it out right here and now!"

"If you haven't noticed, the battle as already started." Her face filled with determination.

"Huh?"

"Can't you feel it? The insects building around the school?"

Reisen's lunatic eyes dim down as she listens intently. "Do…you have a plan so this doesn't escalate too far?"

"Listen to me, I'll grab Wriggle and you grab Cirno before it's too late."

The formation of a black cloud descends from the heavens forming around the human-sized insect. The obnoxious buzzing cries out around the school's courtyard. Reisen takes this moment and sprints, tackling the Ice fairy just as a wave of Higurashi's sliver across the air in her direction grazing the bunny's tail.

"Hey, let me go!" Cirno pleads.

Youmu rushes behind the bug and wraps her arms underneath her, lifting her up by the armpits. With her concentration lost she struggles to get out. "Leave me alone!"

"You need to calm down," Youmu whispers in her ear.

Biting her lip in frustration the bug battles to no avail. Eventually, she lets out a sigh. Soon the Higurashi's swing around in multiple directions exiting the would-be battlefield through the sky.

Reisen picks up the combatant fairy and sits Cirno on the wall as Youmu does the same for Wriggle.

"What are you two fighting about?" With stern looks, the teachers glare.

"Cirno said I was out when I wasn't. She just wanted to kick me out the game, so she wouldn't lose!"

"No, you were out so I was calling it that you were out! As simple as that. You're always so thick headed, Wriggle!"

"So, that's what you were fighting about?" Reisen sighs. "Over that nonsensical game?"

"It's not about the game." Wriggle shoots up, declaring her statement. "She doesn't listen to others and always assumes things."

"Ya' right, you always get mad when we play together. You just like throwing a temper tantrum."

"Wait, Cirno..." Youmu interjects.

"What?!" Cirno screams back.

"Why don't…you listen to what Wriggle has to say?" Reisen adds in her two-cents to the argument.

"Huh? But I didn't do anything wrong- "

"Ah…" Youmu puts her finger up. "It's not about if you did anything wrong. I think…Wriggle would like for you to listen to her side of things. I don't think this…really has anything to do with the game anymore." Youmu turns to the bug now with tears rolling down her face. "Am I right, Wriggle?"

Cirno puffs her cheeks. "Stupid Ghost and Bunny." She then turns back to the tearing Wriggle.

Wriggle looks away slightly. "If Cirno would listen more…I wouldn't be so angry." She rubs the back of her hand. "I just feel…like you don't…listen to me, ever."

Cirno closes her eyes and tries to wrap her head around it. "I don't get it…But…" the ice fairy opens her eyes, tearing up a little herself. "I don't want to lose Wriggle as a friend, so I'll listen to you more if that's what you want."

Cirno approaches cautiously. "So…I'm sorry…Is that okay? Can we be friends again?"

With faces warm with hot tears the two close their distance. Wriggle nods briefly before embracing her friend in a hug. The crowd of kids watches through the window as the two friends make up. Their teachers watch with a light smile on their faces as the two calms down, settling the difference between one another. After a moment Reisen cups her hand on the side of her mouth. "Let's go you two. The class is starting."

Wriggle turns to see the entire class watching them. Her face contorts and turns a hot red filled to the brim in embarrassment. "Eeeeeeeh!" She shields her face.

"What's the wrong Wriggle? Do you want a bigger hug?" Cirno, as clueless as always offers more of her love.

* * *

As the day comes to an end Youmu and the rest of team 9 all hold in their hand's kendo practicing sticks found in the storage room earlier in the day.

"Haaa!" They all scream in harmony doing a perfect samurai forceful blow, taught by Youmu herself. However, Daiyousei falls forward hitting her nose in the dirt.

"Are you okay, Daiyousei?!" Rumia yells as she rushes to her friend's side.

Youmu turns with a smile and sees Reisen unexpectedly watching their _'practice lesson.'_

"Oh…I didn't see you there." With a blush, she turns to the side. "Are…you not going to laugh at me again?"

Reisen scratches the side of her face as Youmu does the same. They both approach one another. The daisy afternoon cast down under them and mixes their shadows into one unconventional form. With a deep breath they both mumble. "Sorry." In unity.

"Eh?" they both look at one another.

"Why are you sorry?" again in accord.

The world disappears. Only the phantom's cold blue gaze and her hot red eyes make up the world around them.

Youmu smirks and giggles. However, Reisen doesn't take the moment as lightly and ruffles the back of her head. "Why are you apologizing, why are you laughing?" Still bewildered, she asks.

"Does it matter anymore? It seems we both understand." Youmu smiles. "I think…we both realize how dumb we've been acting this entire time." She then glances to the side back to team 9. "Like…a couple of children."

"Nnn...I guess you're right." Reisen flustered, agrees to rub her shoulder. She then bites her thumb nail. " _She is weird_."

"I heard that."

"Eh?!" Surprised Reisen jumps.

"If I'm weird than your weirder!" With her tongue out, the ghost retorts.

"Hey, I'm not weird at all!" She approaches cautiously like a prey approaching a dangerous predator.

"So, dressing like that in mid-summer is completely normal?" With her arms crossed she response. I would call that…weird, wouldn't you?"

"Y-You don't understand! I only dress like that because..." Reisen pinches her forehead. "You don't…understand how I feel." The cottontail turns her head away from the teasing girl.

"I _think_ I get it…Well, at least… _I'd like to think that I get it_ …that is, Reisen Inaba." Hand over her mouth, Youmu ponders.

"Huh?" Reisen turns back now with an honest expression of surprise. "Y-You would?" her eyes beam.

"Mhm." She nods. "I know our meeting again wasn't the best. I brought a lot of bad attention to you." She puts her head to the side. "I didn't realize back then how much you hated that…"

The ghost takes a deep breath. "I'm not too good at reading the mood either. I've been told I'm quite thick-headed and extremely gullible too. Over the course of us working together…I should have listened to your side of things or asked how you felt about certain stuff…at least."

With determination, the swordsman looks back at Reisen. Her body lunges forward, all her emotions gather in her gesture. "So, what I'm trying to say is…I think we got off on the wrong foot. Why don't we start over, Inaba Reisen?"

Reisen's eyes grow wide as she looks away, shyly. The bitterness of sour guilt boils in her stomach. "I shouldn't have taken my frustrations out on you, Konpaku Youmu." She turns back to the girl in front of her. "I got us into this mess in the first place. Will you…try to forgive me?" She lowers her body into a bow, pushing Youmu back upright.

However, Youmu shakes her head. "No." the phantom sternly replies.

"What?" The bunny lifts her head up, ears bouncing up and down.

"We both got ourselves into this. Just like Keine said the other day. I won't run from my stupid mistakes. Neither should I put them all on you like I have been doing these last few days." With a beam, she shines back.

"So…let's work together from here on out, please?"

With a bright beam on her, the phantom stretches her arm out. The Usagi, bewildered by the expression the usual stoic gardener has kindly given her, reaches for her offer slowly. Now with firm dedication, she grips the petite girl's slender hand, collapsing it between her own. As if to not let her escape the rabbit flops her second hand on top. The rush of each other's resolve only heightens with the once rival's connection now becoming a partnership.

Reisen grins slightly and turns to the side. With all her fear pushed away she turns back and looks her now equal in the eyes. "Thanks...Konpaku Youmu." Confirming the truce between them.

"Are you gonna hug like Wriggle and Cirno?!"

The pair turns to see the entire team 9 watching their actions. Daiyousei eyes glimmer with anticipation. "That's how friends makeup, they hug each other!"

"Ahh"

"Nnnn…"

They both look away blushing profusely.

"Hey, don't fight again!" Rumia scolds the two.

The teachers look at their students and tilt their heads in agreement once again. "We won't anymore, promise." They chime in unison once more.

"Hey!" A voice calls out from the distance behind them. They turn to see Mokou holding a child in her arms.

"Fujiwara?" Reisen jolts and rushes over, Youmu follows suit.

"Don't worry, she's just asleep. I guess she wondered off while sleepwalking." Mokou pets the hopeless child's hair. "She collapsed in a bed of flowers in the forest nearby and woke up not knowing where she was. I'm on my way to take her back home now."

"Thank goodness." Youmu sighs.

"You two look happy. Did everything work out today?"

Youmu and Reisen turn to each other. "Yes, it did." Youmu answers.

"I'm glad to hear. You guys must be tired, go home and get some rest. I'm sure Keine won't mind. She should be here any minute now, no use waiting around for her."

The pair nods as Mokou walks off slowly towards the inner parts of the village.

With that Reisen turns to Youmu. "I-I'll see you tomorrow?" The bunny squeezes out.

"See you tomorrow." The phantom beams.

They both wave and take off towards the sky in different directions.

"Daiyousei, children."

Team 9 turns around and meets eyes with their stern teacher.

"Ms. Kamishirasawa!" They scream as they clutter around her. She attempts to push them away but eventually gives into their abuse.

"We had so much fun today! You should have seen it!"

"Ah, did everything go well?"

"Yeah, Bunny and Ghost girl were fighting!"

Keine holds her head, veins appear in her temple. "Those two… **I'll kill them** -"

"But then, they made up and are friends now!"

"Huh?" The anger dissipates as abruptly as it came. She turns to the group of happy children. "They…made up?" she parrots.

Undenounced to her a beam crept up on her face. "They finally…set their differences aside?" With a sigh, she smiles. "I'm…so glad." She turns to see Mokou still gently pulling the child along slowly. "I guess this incident did wonders for all of us." She then pets Rumia's head. "What a great day, indeed."

"They even gave us cookies!" Cirno screams.

"Oh, H-how did you g-guys like them?"

"They were the best, Ms. Kamishirasawa!" Daiyousei chimes in.

"Yeah, I hope they come back and teach us again! I want more of their cookies!"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, you probably can learn a thing or two from Ms. Ghost and Ms. Bunny!" Cirno rubs her nose. "They sure are nice, unlike Ms. Kamishirasawa!"

With every stab of Cirno's words, Keine begins to break down piece by piece. She crouches to the ground, dejected. "But…but…the cookies…." She murmurs.

"Ah! Did you want some?! I think their all gone, Ms. Kamishirasawa!" the great fairy rubs her back. "Next time I see them I'll tell them to make a big ol' batch for our favorite teacher!

"Ms. Ghost is my favorite!" Wriggle chimes in.

"Nooooo, Ms. Bunny is best!" Rumia hops in after.

But the tears keep flowing down Keine's face. In soul crushing depression, she wails to the dawn sky. "But…cookies…"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Twenty-six!" Youmu declares, setting down the last food stand in the shopping district.

Reisen stretches her arms. "That took some time, but we had no major issues."

"Yeah, I don't think the water Kappa was upset with our performance this time." The petite girl exhales. "Thank goodness."

"You did good, Konpaku."

"You did too, Inaba."

The pair, sweaty from a day's hard work they beam at one another other.

"You two make me sick!"

Directly across the street from then, posed in front of an army of food stands one lone Youkai is spotted.

"Hey!" Her voice booms. Bystanders, including the two in question, turns their head to see a certain sparrow with an apron in her right hand a ladle in her left and fire in her eyes.

"If you want to take away my business Usagi, half-phantom, then this is war!"

Tossing her apron to the ground Mystia Lorelei clicks her tongue and points at the couple.

"I will win this food stall warfare if it's the last thing I do!" Tears welling up in her eyes and a fierce declaration of war, she points dramatically.

"So Youmu Konpaku and Reisen Udongein Inaba, I declare a cookoff! The loser has to _take a hike_!"

"Cookoff?"

* * *

Sitting in Keine's classroom, Youmu, Reisen and now the songbird, Mystia Lorelei gathers together.

The headmaster scratches her head. "Mystia Lorelei, I think you misunderstand what's-"

"Don't try to fool me, Kamishirasawa!" Her long claws point to the two troublemakers. "You're in cahoots with these two money-grubbing heathens!" Enraged, she hits her head against the wall. "And I won't stand for it any longer! How does a Raven supposed to make an honest living when the big wigs come in and destroy small businesses?!"

Youmu raises her hand. "We honestly have no idea what you are talking about, Mystia-"

Mystia interjects. "Enough lies! I demand we hold a massive cookout! That way the town will decide if my business is worth staying around or will this Usagi-Ghost pair destroy all the hard work I've put in for all these years!"

Reisen, next up to bat puts her hand up in protest. "You're not even letting us expla- "

"Ah!" She cuts her off and turns back to the teacher. "Kamishirasawa, if you had any shred of dignity left in that soulless heart of yours, you'd allow me this one request. If not…then you've truly fallen into the hands of the wicked!"

"Soulless? Now hold on a minute-" However Keine halts her comeback and pounders for a moment. "A massive cookout…to feed the town?" Keine molds over the Sparrow's harsh language.

" _She's not actually contemplating this outrageous idea, is she?"_ Youmu whispers to Reisen.

" _I believe she is."_ Reisen slumps her shoulders.

"You said all the villagers will have the chance to try out the food? Better yet, a meal for them?"

"Yes!" Mystia proudly puts her hand on her hips.

"This may boost morale. It might even make the village look at these two in a different light." With a confirming nod, her contemplation of the scenario is complete.

"Alright, songbird. Bring your stand to the town square in about an hour."

"Kamishirasawa!" The pair screams.

"You have the right to have one other partner. Reisen and Youmu will be a pair as well. There you four will have a _cookout_ as you called it. I'll explain the rules once everyone's assembled there."

"R-Right! Y-You two have just d-dug yourselves a grave!" Trembling with as much confidence as a mouse facing a python, the bird rushes out the door. A loud thump is heard as she trips in the hall and limps her way out the school.

"Ms. Kamishirasawa, why didn't you just tell her this all is a misunderstanding?!" The Rabbit pleads.

"Because that sparrow has a right to be afraid. She has no idea what all those food stalls were, to begin with. They symbolize her livelihood fading away. So, giving her this challenge is just what she needs to gain her confidence back…It's the right thing to do."

"Wow, you're so mature Kamishirasawa. I didn't even think of it from her point of view." Youmu slumps. "I…need to start thinking like that..."

"No, it's nothing like that." Keine modestly waves her praise off. "Also, I was planning a large dinner for the village as they work towards the festival. Having Mystia here working hard to provide the best food, well let's just say it all meshes together too conveniently."

"I see, so that's why you agreed to this insanity." Reisen nods. "You're just like Fujiwara said."

"Huh? What did Mokou say?!"

"Nothing." Youmu teases.

Blushing, the teacher organizes a few pages. "Well anyway, I'm going to invite a few to be the judges and join into this occasion. Do you have any request on who I should invite you two?"

Youmu rubs the back of her head. "I haven't spent much time with Master Yuyuko." Her cheeks tone red. "I do kind of miss her ridiculous antics. And I'm sure she'd enjoy me cooking for her again."

With a twitch of her nose, the Usagi watches the gardener's expressions change dramatically. Now faced with the same question she grows insecure.

"And it's hard for me to admit but…" Her ears droop. "Seeing Master and the others would cheer me up, too."

Keine's features grow soft with a slight nod. "So be it, I'll go and fetch them. I'm sure they'll enjoy seeing their children face off in a cooking battle."

"Children?!" Reisen jumps. "No, it's clearly the other way around!"

"Right! Master Yuyuko is the child!"

"Oh, you two."

* * *

"Oh my." With a fan covering her charming lips the Ghost princess of Hakugyokurou adores the crowd of onlookers. "Are they all here to see _my_ Youmu?!"

Within the rounded center of the Human Village banners promoting the new and glorious cookout hang from small shops. With the help of Keine's class, all preparations are completed in a timely manner. Children run from door to door handing out self-made flyers by their teacher's orders. Despite the quick decision, it would seem that the event is turning out to be quite popular in the public eye as curious people approach in excitement.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Death Princess."

From the side the doctor and Master of the Usagi, Eirin Yagokoro stands firmly. "They are obviously here to taste my bunny's fabulous cooking."

"Oh, now look who's getting ahead of herself." Yuyuko chuckles, "As if, Immortal."

"Now you two, we mustn't fight amongst each other. Today is our children's day." Entering from behind the majestic princess of Eientei, Kaguya waltz in. A hint of sparkles lights up as she makes her way to the scene.

"Kaguya!" Fire erupts from the distance. Entering in Mokou, eyes as fiery brimstones.

"My anger is fueling today, I am now in the mood to kill you!"

"Well, I'm not." The princess whisks her head away. "I want to see my rabbit cook delicious food like in a slice of life anime." Her tone grows sour mirroring a Yakuza boss lady. "So, beat it, punk."

"Not very princess like now, are you?" Yuyuko giggles hysterically.

"Speak for yourself, ghost."

The immortal princess swings her long hair turning away from Mokou. "Now Eirin, have you seen Tewi?"

"Now that you mention it…"

* * *

"Hey, Youmu…Did you see that knife I set down?"

Using one of Nitori's advanced food stalls the Usagi-Ghost pair gradually prepare their ingredients for the massive feast ahead. Reisen looks up from the bottom cabinet to witness the diligent half-ghost wrapping herself in a lime-green apron.

"You mean the Yanagi-ba for the sushi appetizers?" She puts a finger to her mouth. "Now that you mention it, it was on the table but now it's gone. Maybe I unconsciously moved it." She begins searching around. "Hm, no luck."

"Well it's no big deal but I guess sushi is out for now. We should decide what we're going to make and in which order for the event." Reisen growls as she looks across the street. "And that Sparrow has been eyeing us this entire time. She's getting on my nerves."

Mystia glares in detest at her competition as they frolic about the food stall directly in front of her.

"Mystia…are you okay? Should we walk over there and confront them?"

Mystia swings her head back to the iron table behind her. She turns to her chef in arms, the still to this day unknown book reading Youkai, Tokiko. With her mixed hair color and bird-like wings sticking out of her apron she walks towards the furious Lorelei. She harbors her fellow bird youkai's anger. Her blonde and purple locks cast over her eyes as she tilts her head to the side.

"I heard they plan to ruin your business. How horrible."

Mystia clicks her tongue. "I'm going to run them out of town and I have a plan. Thank you for supporting me, Tokiko. I…couldn't rely on team 9 for this competition!" She clenches her fist, shaking in frustration.

"Is that so?"

With a gasp, she turns to see Rumia sitting at her stand.

"Ah-R-Rumia!"

"I just came by to say, "good luck Mystia!"…But I think Ms. Usagi and Ghost are going to win, they make great cookies!" With a forward smile, she jumps off the high stool and flies across the dirt towards the crowd of onlookers.

"They bribed my friends with cookies?!" Furious, she takes out a knife and stabs it in the counter.

"M-Mystia, calm down."

She takes a sharp breath and turns to Tokiko. "I love them, they are my good friends, but they are so unreliable!" Mystia grabs Tokiko's hands. The passion of two suffering from the wrong deeds of others burn in their hearts. "Together, we will put an end to big business chains like the ones these two are trying to make!"

"Yes, I agree! We must stop this before you go out of business. That's the last thing I want to happen to my friend, Mystia!" Tokiko turns to the side and looks at a large paper on the counter. "However,…" She ponders. "What is this?"

With a smug look the songbird crackles. "This is a petition to exile the Usagi and Ghost out of the Human Village. It seems the town had already planned this before I had the idea. I will ask all voters in the crowd majority to sign it after they try my food. If this reaches the max, then they will be cast out! Easy for an event like this." The evil sparrow laughs. "Big business must be punished!"

Tokiko's hands tremble. "You're…so brave Mystia! Even though my culinary skills are lackluster, I will follow all your commands and help you rid of this horrid company!"

"Tokiko…."

"Mystia…"

"You never told me anything about this!"

From the side, a spectator, Keine the school teacher reads the document.

"You plan to press their banned through with a majority vote under the guise of supporting small business owners?" Keine shakes her head and smacks the paper to the table.

"Nobody will agree to this, not after reading through this entire thing. This paper has nothing to do with big business chains!"

Mystia's face shines as smug as a Yukkuri. "Oh, foolish teacher, nobody ever reads the fine print. They only focus on what you say and sign because they like the idea of it. I want to rid of big business, if that means kicking these two out forever then so be it!"

The teacher pianos her fingers across the bar. "That's not just shrewd, it's sick!" Keine grumbles. "If I knew you had this devious of a plan second-hand I would have never agreed to it."

"It's too late now! You can rip up that copy all you want but I found plenty to spare. My food chain will thrive if it's the last thing I do!"

Keine grinds her teeth. "You won't win, Lorelei. The majority will take charge and vote towards Konpaku Youmu and Inaba Reisen, I will ensure that they won't be kicked out of this village by some delusional sparrow!"

With her rage upholding her Kamishirasawa storms across the street.

"Wow, I've always wanted to try this." Reisen points to a delight in a cookbook.

"I've never made it before, maybe we can try it?" Youmu awes at the delicious meals recipe.

"Really? Okay, I hope they like it."

"No time for making meals you haven't tried before!"

Interrupting their happy moment, the scowl of the teacher presses into their space. "We have a problem…a big one."

Keine takes a seat on a tall stool laid out in front.

"What's wrong Kamishirasawa, you sound serious."

"I overlooked something critical…The desperation of this sparrow's fear." Keine intertwines her hands and rests her elbows on the bar, masking her lips. "She has started a petition to rid of you two from this town."

"What?!" Reisen shrieks. "But I thought you had that handled!"

"She's going to ask her voters to sign if they agree with her food. Her petition isn't just a simple, get rid of the rabbit and phantom. In the fine print, it clearly states the incident you two caused but that's been cleared up already." Keine turns to the side.

"However, she's masking the paper as something entirely different. She's supporting the idea of helping small businesses. In other words, …" The teacher takes a breath and wails in frustration. "She has marked you two as the enemy of the village, a big business."

Reisen shakes her head. "Clever, she's planning to win by appealing as a small business fighting for the right to survive. Not just over the taste of her food but an emotional appeal as well."

Youmu scratches her head. "I'm not too savvy on business and merchant mechanics but from how I gather it…because she believes we are a group made to take all small food chains away and make one massive chain where we profit all the money, she's going to use that lie to win this competition?"

Her temple flares as she unsheathes her weapon. "I will make that bird into Master Yuyuko's first dish!"

"Konpaku Youmu." Keine calmly addresses her. "Causing a scene with your current status in the Human Village is detrimental to not just this event but your appeal to not be removed from town. I admit…I put you two in this situation." She gazes to the side. "And I wish I had the culinary expertise to single-handedly get you out but…I don't."

With eyes as fierce as tigers Kamishirasawa lets out a roar. "So please, win against this sparrow! Do only your best, show this village you two are worth being a part of it."

Youmu Konpaku and Reisen Inaba stand side by side. With one powerful nod and a salute across their chest, Keine stands to her feet, clicks her heels and returns one of her own. With a powerful thrust of her body, her hair swings in the wind as she makes way to the crowd.

The pair glares at their competition, the sparrow duo makes eye contact in return from across the street. Mystia and Tokiko do not waver either. They stay firm, staring back at their rivals. The force between the couples mirrors a great serpent versing the all-powerful, king of the lion deity.

" _We won't lose, no matter what_!"


	7. Chapter 7

"Hello everyone, it's the pure, true and honest, Aya Shameimaru of the Bunbunmaru news and I am currently getting commentary from the locals of this sudden "Cookoff."

High in the bright sky, the blackbird circles the excited crowd awaiting the event. With a swift twirl of her body, the crow swoops down and catches hold of the blonde-haired puppeteer, Alice Margatroid, holding an empty plate in hand.

"Alice Margatroid! Perfect, can I interview you for this newspaper?!" The reporter pleads as she shoves a black mic to her face. Courtesy of " _Nitori Industries_."

"Eeehh, no, I don't want to be interviewed!" The magician heaves back.

"C'mon, C'mon, please? I need it else I'll lose subscribers!" Begging now, the blackbird god approaches. Her height towers over the lone puppeteer nearly suffocating her.

"Leave me alone!"

* * *

The day reaches its peak as Keine, leader of the competition steps up on the podium placed squarely in the middle, splitting the two stands from one end to the next. On the right side, the Usagi and Phantom stand in full-fledged cookware. Konpaku Youmu in her trusty lime-green stripped apron, Inaba in a purple with polka dots. On the opposing side, Mystia in a long apron that trickles down to her ankles. With the writings cast across her chest reading: " _Kiss the Bird_." Tokiko also with a similar dark apron mirroring the color of her dim blue dress. Now, these iron chefs face off, utensils at the ready.

"Attention!" The school teacher shouts.

The crowd surrounding the chefs settles down. Familiar faces from Lunasa, the musical poltergeist and her sisters, to the rest of team 9 all gather in anticipation. Even the solitude magician stands in the crowd eagerly, plate in hand.

"Thank you all for coming to this sudden event. We are here to thank you all for your hard work for this upcoming festival. We ask that you judge these delicious meals that these four girls will provide for you." With a stern look and sweat dripping down her face Keine persist. "We ask that after you eat a meal provided by both of the contestants you slip a red or blue piece of paper provided in the box for the corresponding team's color."

The citizens look towards the voting box.

"As well, we have three special guests who will provide expert critiques in this food wars. Please, give a round of applause to our first-panel member. Rinnosuke Morichika, the runner of the rare antique shop, Kourindou."

The crowd claps as the shopkeeper takes his seat as the first judge. "Thank you, Ms. Kamishirasawa."

"Next up we have a beauty that many know and wish to not see for as long as possible, Yuyuko Saigyouji!"

"Master Yuyuko?!"

"Shh!" Reisen scolds her partner with her finger to her mouth.

Yuyuko floats her way into the far-right seat, forks, and knives at the ready.

"And last but not least we have the princess of the moon, Kaguya Houraisan."

"Princess Kaguya?!"

"Shh!" Youmu scolds but Reisen doesn't let up as she frantically wiggles about.

"The rules are simple; each team will create three dishes. Each will be served to the spectators and judges. The judges will decide either the red team, Rei-Myon team, or blue team, Myst-ikiko first. Then the crowd will place their votes in afterward. In the end, the judge's word is worth ten votes as each individual spectator is worth one. These will be tallied, and the victor will be decided."

After that long-winded explanation, Keine takes a deep breath.

"Iron Chef, you have forty-five minutes on each round. On your mark, get set…GO!"

"Boil the water!" Mystia screams flying across her small stand. "Get the onions ready, I'll prepare the basil, peppers, and eggs!"

"Right, Master Mystia!"

"Reisen, start on the rice! I'll prepare the eggs!" Youmu points to the rice stack in the corner.

"Mh!" Reisen nods and rushes to her job. Youmu flips her battle knife in the air, grabs two onion sticks, a few peppers and onion heads, swirls to the side, catching the fallen utensil mid-air. Fiercely, she cuts the hedges like a machine.

Keine abuses her thumb as the true battle begins. Mokou whirls her white locks to see her friend in a panic. "Is everything all right, Keine? You seem tense."

"Yes…this clash means everything to these children. I just hope…they've truly settled their differences." She nurtures her head in her palm and exhales deeply.

"It's just a cookoff…right?" Curious now, hands in pocket, Fujiwara questions.

"Listen…closely to what I tell you, Mokou." Keine glares at Lorelei intently focused on her skillet. "That sparrow…is a force to be reckoned with."

"Oh! She's making Omurice!" Yuyuko stands up clapping uncontrollably. "Youmu, oh, Youmu please add in your special love sauce recipe!"

"Ms. Saigyouji, you're distracting the contestants." Rinnosuke waves her down to no avail. "Sit back down, if you want it to taste good, don't badger her."

"Yeah, be a good princess and sit your ass down." Kaguya snickers.

At that moment a sizzle of fine cuisine hits the immortals nose. She stops and turns towards the sparrows stand.

"This simple yet effective smell. A meal that can be made in mass quantities in little time. Not only delicious but ingenious! She's making Niratama Donburi!" Kaguya gets to her feet, squealing like a cheerleader in a rally. "Add plenty of Nira! I love plenty of Nira!"

Rinnosuke sinks into his chair. "I'm surrounded by idiots…"

"Youmu, do you have the eggs ready?!"

"Yes, I'll plate them, you add the rice!"

Like an assembly line perfectly made eggs fly from the side like frisbees, falling flawlessly on the already staged plates. Reisen spins around scooping precise quantities of delicious fried rice, still steaming from the skillet. Effortlessly, over twenty plates appear in front of the counter. Keine and Mokou rush over and take three from the front just before the crowd of spectators shower in for the remains. Like a stampede of bulls, the crowd mows down the plates of ready dishes wiping the counter clean.

"W-We need more food!" Reisen cries, desperately cracking the next egg.

"Food, red team ready!" They cry, plopping the plates down in front of the three judges.

"Arrgg…" Yuyuko's face contorts.

"Is there a problem, Ghost?" Keine scowls with frustration.

"There's no special love sauce on this…"

Furious, Youmu marches up the steps leading to the judge's panel. Hand on one hip, the sassy gardener flips her bob cut hair.

"Master Yuyuko, do you know how long it takes to make that 'special love sauce' as you call it?! Two hours of prior prep time. Two hours. Let me repeat, _two hours!_

Yuyuko puffs her cheeks and pushes the plate away. "I don't want it."

"Master Yuyuko, you put that Omurice in your mouth right now and rate me like a judge else I will force it in!"

"No." As stubborn as a mule, Yuyuko puts a blue slip in the box then turns her head to the side with a "Hmph!"

"You are digging both our graves you ungrateful-" Youmu grips the plate and lunges for the selfish child. But before she can make her move Kamishirasawa grasps the enraged chef by the stomach, rips her to the side and, forces her off stage.

"Go cool your head for the next match." Keine orders, Youmu still seething with rage.

"Myon!" She curses to no one in particular then trumps back to her stand.

Keine with her own pint up rage makes her way back to the stage. "Listen ghost, if you don't play fair I will replace you immediately."

With a snicker, the childish princess nods. "Yes, Ms. _Oh So Scary Teacher_!"

Kamishirasawa glares with an obvious intent to kill but before _she_ can make good on her rage Mouko jumps onto the panel, rushes to her friend's aid and, gently pulls her away from the judges. "L-Let's go, Keine."

Youmu, in a fuss, stomps back into the stall. "Stupid Master Yuyuko. She did that on purpose. Probably to make the game more fun for her." Defeated, she sits down on a stool, weighing her head.

"Yeah, we lost a judge's vote right off the bat because of Ms. Saigyouji." Reisen clicks her tongue as her eyes glance back at Youmu, cheeks still flaring with irritation. The rabbit reaches her hand out but stops mid-way bringing her palm back to her chest. "Don't worry, Konpaku. We still have two rounds." We can win this, okay?"

After a brief moment of silence, the gardener looks up at Reisen. In an uplifting nod, she stands to her feet. "R-Right! Thank you, Inaba." Now motivated, Youmu grabs her knife. "Let's prepare the next meal!"

With the tension now settled the shopkeeper, Rinnosuke takes the first bite of his Omurice. Like a sudden rush of power surging through his body, a blast of memory floods his mind, taking him back to a blissful day in a forest alone.

The now isolated item collector looks at the desolate spot on the clean green earth. With a smile and a heart of gold, he opens his mouth, uttering the words that started his journey.

"This…is Kourindou." Suddenly, the flashback ends bringing him back to the present. Rinnosuke violently clenches his heart with all his strength. With all the power he can muster he holds a red ticket high in hand, dropping it in the voting hold before collapsing face first on the table.

"Oh, god, is he dead?!" Kaguya screams in terror.

" _Omurice! Omurice! Omurice!_ " His glasses hit the table as he holds his head up high. "That was the first meal I had when I opened Kourindou." The nostalgia takes hold of his body as the shopkeeper starts to weep realizing all his bottled emotions from that day had been suppressed long ago. "How could…I forget such an important memory?!" The distraught man bangs his fist on the table. "It's because of all of the shoplifters lately! They made me regret building Kourindou! B-But...But...I do love Kourindou!"

Yuyuko takes the chance and coddles the crying man in her arms. "There, there. It will be okay." As she brushes his soft white hair.

Mystia, plates in hand along with an annoyed glare to boot, trumps up to the judge's panel. "Hey, why are judges voting before they get all the meals provided?! There should be a rule against that!" With a harsh clank, she sets down her three plates of Niratama Donburi in front of each panelist.

The glutton is the first to react. Pushing the sobbing man down, she devours the plate in seconds. "Oh, that was quite delicious. I even tasted the hint of a bird." With a smile, seductively, Yuyuko glosses back at Mystia. "Won't you let me…eat you next?"

"N-Never!" Mystia shrieks and races off the stage back to the safety of her stall. But not without tripping a few times on her way there.

"The Omurice was fantastic but you can't go wrong with Niratama Donburi first. I'm going with the blue team on this one. Great job, the both of you though."

Keine, now calmed down, steps up in front of the judge's panel. "Alright, the crowd votes are in. The current score is…

Two digital screens flash from behind the grand stage, revealing the score of the cookoff. To the announcer's surprise, she clicks her tongue in disgust. "That Nitori…greedy Kappa…she must have conned her way into making a profit out of this event." With a huff, she gathers her composure and reads the conveniently placed scoreboard.

* * *

 **Round 1**

 **Rei-myon ) RED TEAM**

 **10 (Judge Vote) + 19 (Crowd Vote) total = 29 votes.**

 **Myst-ikiko) BLUE TEAM**

 **20 (Judge Vote) + 11 (Crowd Vote) total = 31 votes.**

* * *

"That bird knows how to cook. And did you see her petition? I guess she's battling big business to fight for the little guy. Hell yeah, I signed up. I'm a small business too, you know?!"

"It sounds like the rabbit's team is starting a big food chain or something. If I were you, I'd petition to stop them too. No matter how good their Omurice was…I don't want it to ruin my husband's food stand."

The discussions around the crowd only grow fiercer as Youmu tries to concentrate on cutting onions for the next meal.

"Ouch!"

Reisen turns to see blood leaking on the cutting board ruining the premade onions. "Geez, did you cut yourself?" She searches around frantically. "Hm, where's my first aid kit?" She then turns back to Youmu who's quiet despite the blood flowing rapidly down her fingers.

"How…can we win this?" the girl mutters.

Reisen looks at Youmu, her expression twist to an irritated stare. "Where's this coming from?" The bunny puffs her tail then flicks her on the head.

"Ouch!" still bleeding she puts her hand on her forehead. "Why did you do that, Inaba?"

"Get your head in the game, focus Konpaku. Now you got blood on your forehead! Arrg, dang it, where are my ointments and stuff? I swear I brought them with me." With a moan, she looks around and grabs a handkerchief from her pocket instead.

"Hold still." She demands. The nurse sits Youmu on a stool and bends to one knee, wiping the blood off her temple. Just as a nurse would, she holds the injured hand steadily as she dabs away at the trickles of blood still dripping to the ground. With the handkerchief now soaked deep red, she sets it to the side. But unlike a nurse, she places her warm lips at the ends of her patient's finger.

"Eh, what are you doing!"

"Mph dompj bomph dom…"

"Take my finger out of your mouth first!" The surprised Youmu shrieks.

Reisen sighs and does as she's told. "I don't have my ointments so I'm cleaning the cut and slowing the bleeding. "Sternly she replies. "Now hold still, this won't take long."

"Mhm…"

Her soft lips coil around the wound, bringing a sudden jolt in the half-ghost. The odd sensation ripples through the petite child's body. When she finally releases her finger the cold night air cools the sliced skin, opposite to the bunny's sincere embrace seconds ago. Reisen looks up from below.

"There you go, now hold still, okay?"

"Mm…" The fuchsia faced girl nods.

"Quite the passionate kiss there, Reisen."

The pair's eyes dart over at a familiar smaller Usagi holding a medicine kit.

"Ah! Tewi, so it was you that's been stealing my stuff?!"

Reisen let's go of her patient and trumps over to the trickster.

"Sorry for interrupting something special but I had to play that part." She snickers.

"I-It was nothing like that!" Reisen's face blooms a rosy tone as she rips the box from her.

"Well anyway, it looks like you guys are losing. That Mystia sure is a shrewd businesswoman."

The doctor now applies the ointment then she applies a bandage to Youmu, finishing up her task. She closes the box and slips it safely under the counter.

"Yeah…" Youmu replies in irritation. "She's not only a good cook but a savvy opponent." The girl puts her head down. "There has to be a way to win…else Inaba and I are done for."

The ghost puts her finger on her lip contemplating the situation. "I… can't see the answer due to my lack of merchant expertise. No matter how hard I try to ponder for a solution…in the end, I just want to cut that bird up and make her into teriyaki!"

"Huh?" Reisen's eyes widen. "So, you weren't giving up?"

"Giving up? As if." She turns back to the two. "If I do…everything we've worked for up until now will be for not. I can't let you or Master Yuyuko down…despite her being against us in this endeavor."

"Konpaku…"

Tewi chuckles. "Wow, who thought that this is where my expertise would come in handy?!" The mini Usagi jumps in between them, grips their shoulders and winks.

"Listen Konpaku, Reisen, I got a plan."

"A plan?" Reisen parrots suspiciously. "This isn't a tasteless prank, right Tewi?"

"Oh, it is a prank. One that only I, Tewi Inaba can do!" With both hands on her hip, she declares proudly.

"Tewi, can I trust you?" Youmu questions.

"Trust me or not, I don't care. But you'll have to put your faith in me if you want to win this challenge. I know what the true stakes for failure in this are for you guys."

Like a snake, she slithers to Youmu's side. "C'mon Konpaku, trust the devil…it won't be so bad." Seductively, she creeps closer, giving the half-ghost a chill.

"I don't like it…but…" Youmu groans. "Take my soul if you must but please, help us win, Inaba Tewi!"

"Okay, I'll start it now: Mission Cooked Sparrow commence!"

"What are those two plotting?"

On the other side of the street, the sparrow glares. Tokiko puts her hand on her shoulder. "Mystia, we need to start our next dish before they declare the next round."

"Right, get the water boiling, Tokiko. I'll get the meat ready." She continues to glare at her opponents. "Your business venture falls tonight, Konpaku, Inaba!" She clicks her tongue, lifts her sleeves and, lights her stoves fire. The crackle of oils and determination flares through the coming night sky.


	8. Chapter 8

_Writers Notes:_

 _Recently I have experienced a trauma involving the passing away of a loved one. Because so I didn't have the will to do much of anything for a while. Only a few days ago I was able to snap myself back and try my best to continue writing and doing what I love. Thank you to those who still are reading this tale, it does have a ways to go and I have a present for the readers who download the next link I am going to release in the notes in either the next chapter or the chapter that follows._

 _Thank you again for your support. Please help me become better by giving me pointers, I greatly appreciate everything I have recent thus far._

 _With that, onto the tale..._

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

"Round two will commence…. now!" At the blare of Keine's boisterous cry, all four chefs make their way to their respective fires.

"Inaba, soy sauce!"

"Right!"

She passes over the sauce then sprints back to the noodles in a steaming skillet to the side. Youmu makes headroom on the minced onions, adds the oil giving them a fine crackle. With quick thinking she adds a premeasured amount of cornstarch before pouring in the rest of the vegetables, tossing it all into a sizzling satay of fresh goods.

"Ah, great idea." The bunny admires.

"It adds texture to the sauce, so it doesn't run off the plate like in most stir-fry."

Reisen fist her palm. "I see!"

"Tokiko! Pass the pork!"

"Y-Yes Mystia!"

Tokiko picks up the bowl of fresh pork and trots over to Mystia's side. But before she makes it her feet catch one another as the entire bowl collapses onto the ground.

"Ow!"

"Tokiko, are you okay?!"Mystia drops her knife and runs to her partner's side.

"Oh no. I'm such a klutz…" The Raven hits her head looking at the dirtied meat.

"Hang in there." Mystia comforts as she raises her to her feet, tossing the pork in the trash. "Together, we're going to win this no matter what." She pulls out a fresh bowl of fine delectable pork pieces. Big business won't bully us around!"

"Mystia, you're so brave, fighting against a big company like this!"

With a thumb up and a charming smile, the songbird flutters Tokiko's, maiden heart.

"Aw, it seems the birds lost their meat. What a waste." Kaguya slumps her head down on the table. "This will put them down a few minutes. I wonder, can they still pull off their next meal at this rate?"

"Don't underestimate that bird." Rinnosuke crosses his arms. "She seems to have a trick or two up her sleeves…I can feel it."

Yuyuko chuckles. "Oh, I hope it's better than Youmu's signature stir-fry. At this rate, the Usagi and half-ghost will win this round."

Rinnosuke turns to the ghostly princess. "How are you so sure?"

"Because you haven't tasted Youmu's signature stir-fry. That's why."

"Hm…?"

The fire's chard, the passion of the steam blares in the lukewarm night. The crowd cheers in excitement as the smell of delicious foods capture the area. Alice, the blonde-haired puppeteer, sitting at the side still eating the prior omurice.

"Mmm….mmm…So good."

"Whatcha doin'?"

Turning nose to nose with Aya, the honest reporter. Alice coughs up her food.

"Geez, why are you bothering me?!"

"Konpaku, it looks like the sparrow is plotting something big with her pork." Reisen nibbles on her thumb.

"We must not worry about her or our stir fry will lose flavor. Now, time to add the secret ingredient!"

Kaguya hops up from her seat. She searches the half-ghost stall. "I heard, secret ingredient! If she's truly creating it right here in front of all these people I doubt it'll be a secret for long. Hehe."

"Calm yourself, Lunar Princess. You'll never know what it is. I've watched her create this fabulous dish countless times and I can't even fathom what it may be."

"That's why it's called a _secret ingredient_." The shopkeeper nods.

"Ah, Konpaku…what is this…secret ingredient?"

"It has already been added. I took the initiative to do it myself."

Shocked. "So quick!" Reisen stammers.

"Mystia, I don't think the meat will be done in time!" Shuttering, Tokiko steps away from the grill."

Mystia crosses her arms. "Listen, turn up the heat on the pork to its highest."

"B-But that could burn it from the outside and not cook it well on the inside. Y-You told me that."

"We're going to the oven it on the grill. If we turn the heat up, raise the food higher than the grates and insulate the heat, the meat should cook evenly while keeping the outside juicy. But that means we need to sacrifice the glaze I had planned and improvise with a different more settle taste."

"Wow, Mystia!" Tokiko claps uncontrollably.

"H-Hey, get focused, were running out of time!" The bird's face glows hot red.

"Stir fry, team red, done!" Mokou cries, carrying the food up to the judge's panel. Moments later a wave of bystanders grabs the remaining plates. The waiter turns in terror. "I could have been in that!" She shutters. "K-Keine, don't you think this is getting a little….out of hand?"

Keine closes her eyes. "It…appears so."

"H-Hey, let me in, let me in!" The puppeteer fights for her right to another plate of food.

"Hold on everyone, we're getting more plates ready!" The cottontail, now getting annoyed begins to rustle her hair as she builds more mountains of food.

"Here's your meal, I hope you choke on it!"

"Thank you, Mokou." Kaguya beams at her mortal enemy. She then turns and watches the crowd of spectators fighting over the meal being served.

"Ohoho, look at the peasants fight for meals while we, the kings and queens of this game eat stress-free. "The lunar princess proudly boasts. She then takes her sticks and plops a line of noodles in her mouth.

With a shocking surge of energy, her body starts to tremble. Her head slams into the table.

"P-Princess!" Eirin sets her plate to the side only to have it stolen by a mischievous ice fairy. "Huh? Hey!" Now with two choices, chase down the fairy or aid the princess, Eirin is conflicted.

"Wait, what am I doing?! I'm conflicted between helping my princess and food?!" Eirin turns to Reisen. "Udongein, check on the Princess!"

"Huh? Ah, alright, Master!"

Without a second to spare the doctor races off towards the Ice Fairy. Reisen nods to Youmu and runs up to the judge's panel.

"Princess, Princess!"

"Arrg…It's too much." Kaguya sits up warily. "R-Reisen…Is that you?"

Rinnosuke and Yuyuko watch eagerly.

"I'm right here, I'm right here, Princess. I-I don't know what Konpaku put in as the secret ingredient! But I'll go give that girl a piece of my mind-"

"We must employ her. That is an order." The princess shoots up from the brink of death. "Half-ghost! This stir-fry is unbelievable!" Passions building up in her soul she screams at the top of her lungs. "I love you! Please, work for Eientei!"

The ghost face turns pure rosy red.

"Ah, breaking news, the Princess of Eientei just proposed to the swordsman and protector of Hakugyokurou, Konpaku Youmu! Would this world-shattering news provide a bond in the two fractions if their relationship is solidified?!" Aya pushes her way through the crowd. "Konpaku Youmu, what is your answer?!" Forcing a mic to her face as she continues cooking her food diligently.

"Ah…"

"Now hold on a gosh darn moment!" The princess of the netherworld marches over to Kaguya. Arms crossed. "How dare you attempt to steal my Youmu!"

"Back off ghost." Tone with all the delightfulness of a yakuza, Kaguya bites back. "I'll treat her like a queen in our establishment! Here, take the bunny." She points to Reisen.

"P-Princess, I think you're angering Saigyouji more than you mean to. P-Please, tell her it's a joke."

"What joke?"

"So cold!"

The sparrows watch this abnormal event, spectating from the side as their food continues to cook.

"Tsk," Mystia grumbles. "First that phantom wants to hoard all the business in and around the village now she's whoring herself off to the highest bidder? Despicable."

"O-Okay Mystia, now I know that's not what's happening. You might be taking this a little far."

"Oh, phantom…Look what I have in my hand." She swings a red ticket back and forth. "Here ya go, a little incentive, from me to you."

Youmu beams still as red as a cherry. "T-Thank you but I will have to politely decline your offer."

"Oh, playing hard to get?" Kaguya settles back in her seat. "Just you wait, in due time you will be sending food directly to my room. A place where all fantasies are realized and played out." The seductress laughs manically.

Yuyuko not taking her joke well scoffs and makes her way back to her seat.

"With that craziness over…" Rinnosuke takes his plate in hand. "Now, I can see what all the fuss is about."

"Hold it!" The sparrow walks on stage. "Didn't I just say that all judges should vote after they get all respective meals?!" She sets three plates down full of perfectly grilled pork on a skewer with vegetables on the side.

"Mystia! Our stand is getting flooded with people! Help! Help!"

"Ah, I'm coming Tokiko!"

"I got you, punk!" Eirin holds the troublemaking fairy high in her hand bringing them nose to nose. "You stole from the wrong woman."

"Hey, let me go else I'll beat you up!"

With an Intimidating aura, the immortal tilts her head. "You wanna waste your life?"

"Eek! It's over there, on the stool!"

Eirin searches relentlessly only to spot a blonde-haired Youkai with a red ribbon devouring the plate whole.

"That was good!"

Mortified, Eirin drops Cirno to the ground.

Kaguya tastes the fine pork skewed perfectly on her plate. "Not good enough, try again next time."

"You already voted!" Mystia scorns.

"The stir-fry is amazing but it's lacking that…oomph! But the pork is quite delicious. So, the blue team I go." Yuyuko sniggers and puts a blue ticket in the box.

"Master Yuyuko..." Youmu balls her fist up high.

Rinnosuke tastes the plate of grilled pork. "Even with that blunder, you two produce such fantastic meals. I must say, I can't see the stir-fry beating this."

He then turns and tastes the stir-fry. Flavors blast through his body as his eyes glow a powerful cobalt breaking his glasses in half.

"I feel alive!" The rush of energy surges in him.

"Eh, that ghost is mine, shopkeeper!"

"Who are you to hoard this kind of beauty?! The soul who made this meal must be freed from that glutton's grasp! She needs to be released from enslavement to journey Gensokyo and feed its people with amazing stir fry!" With that, he puts in a red ticket.

Yuyuko puffs her cheeks. "I can't kill Kaguya but you Rinnosuke are not safe from my wrath."

"Konpaku! The stir-fry was a grand success! Two judges voted for us."

Youmu nods. "Yes but…Master Yuyuko still refuses to give us her points."

"Sorry to say but your master seems like a pain." The rabbit rubs her ears. "No matter what we give her, for a glutton she's refusing to eat it. I'm sure any other time she would have devoured it.

A light ring inside the half-ghost. "I think I get it!"

"The results are in!" Keine's voice booms across the food competition.

* * *

 **Round 1**

 **Rei-myon = 10 (Judge Vote) + 19 (Crowd Vote) total = 29 votes.**

 **Myst-ikiko = 20 (Judge Vote) + 11 (Crowd Vote) total = 31 votes.**

 **Round 2**

 **Rei-myon = 20 (Judge Vote) + 9 (Crowd Vote) total = 29 votes.**

 **Myst-ikiko = 10 (Judge Vote) + 21 (Crowd Vote) total = 31 votes**

 **Total**

 **Rei-myon = 58 votes.**

 **Myst-ikiko** **= 62 votes**

* * *

"Please continue to sign against big business! You wouldn't want your livelihood taken right under your fingers, right?!" Mystia pushes her stick with tears in her eyes.

"Wow, we've captured most of the crowd votes. The petition paper is filling up. We only need a few more names and big business is out of here!" Tokiko jumps slightly.

"Now, Tokiko, in order to win this, we must have the majority of the judges on our side. But even by chance, we lose…We'll take this big food chain down with us!"

"Inaba, it would seem we do not have the crowd on our side any longer. I wonder if Tewi's plan has been set in motion?"

Reisen sighs. "To be honest, I haven't seen her since her big chat about "being the devil" and all that. I doubt she's even done anything let alone help us win."

In the midst of the chaos, Keine walks on stage. She takes out a cone looking object with the imprint: _Nitori industries_ ruggedly on the side.

"It seems we have a request by the judges!" Her voice is amplified, gathering the attention of the rest of the contestants.

She clears her throat before continuing. "Something sweet to wrap it all up! That is the hint!"

Grumbling she sets her mike down. "Not much of a hint when you all just _clearly_ want sweets."

"Sweets…" Youmu puts her finger to her mouth. "Ah, I see…. So, this is Master Yuyuko's final challenge."

"Eh?"

"She won't vote for us unless we make something…extraordinary."

"How are you so sure, Konpaku?"

Youmu searches the judge's corner, determination fuels her resolve. "Because I can feel it from her aura. She wants me to challenge myself if I hope to win."

"What should we make then?"

Youmu contemplates then sees the cookbook lying stubbornly on the ground.

"Ah, the delight!"

Keine makes her way to their stand and oversees the two hovering over the book. Intensely, they research their next meal. The rage boils as she stomps over. "What are you two doing?!" She screams.

"Eh, Ms. Kamishirasawa!"

"I told you two if you make something ridiculous than you're done for!" She rubs her head. "Stick to your strengths, that's how you'll win!"

"But we have been doing that the entire competition." Youmu pleads then straightens up. "We must go for broke, use each other's culinary skills to the maximum efficiency to enhance the dishes of our meals. That's the only way we can beat this songbird!"

"And what if you lose because of it? Aren't you making too big of a risk this late in the game?"

"Then it wasn't meant to be." Youmu clenches her fist. "But that's not going to happen."

Reisen turns to Youmu, her determination is met by no other. They both nod and turns back to the teacher. "We ask that you believe in us, Ms. Kamishirasawa."

"Huh?"

"The only way we can win is by you believing in our ability to work together, just like you've been pushing us to do this entire time!"

The teacher grows silent. She then looks back at the two who stare firmly at their resolve, facing this conquest forward. With a sigh, she continues. "Do everything you need to win. I won't accept a failure, however. You both have a lot to do in this village before your debt is paid off. Don't let me down just yet."

"Thank you, Ms. Kamishirasawa!" They both chime.

"Inaba, start the glaze, I'll prepare the dough!"

"Right!"

With a pump of the fist, the pair fiercely battles for victory. The teacher makes her way back to the podium next to Mokou.

"So, how are those two doing?"

Keine prowls then gradually gains a light smile. "They seem to have more confidence than I do." She shakes her head.

"Well, there's not much we can do now but hope that they come out on top. It looks like the majority of the crowd is siding with the songbird though."

"The only way they can win this competition now is if they receive votes from all judges at this point, however, that glutton ghost has been quite stubborn."

Mokou flips her hair with her arm. Strains of her white hair trickle down her back.

"Maybe her servants finally realized how to make her come around."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, that has to be why she's putting all her hope into this next dish." Mokou puts her hand on top of Keine's head. Her face turns beat red. "So, have faith in them, Keine."

"S-Stop that, Mokou!"

"Ehehe."

"If only I got to the pork skewers and stir-fry sooner." Holding an empty plate Alice curls down to the ground and rubs her finger in the dirt. "I really…wanted to try that stir fry."

"Hey, you want some of mine?"

Alice jumps up to see Aya holding four plates. Two stir-fries and two pork skewers with vegetables.

"W-why do you have two?!" her rage upholds her as she snatches them away.

"Wow, you must really be hungry." Aya chuckles.

"I-It's not like that, idiot." She sits to the side, under a nearby tree. "My new medication…gives me an appetite, that's all, Aya Shameimaru."

With a smug face, Aya sits next to her. "Oh, does that mean you're finally opening up to oh crow? Can I get that interview from you now?!"

"L-Leave me alone!"

"What is this smell?" The ghost princess perks her nose to the sky. An aroma foreign to her wavers in the air. Her body floats towards the stand.

"Hold it!" Keine stops her.

"But I must get over there! It's for the greater good!"

"Your stomach is nothing remotely close to the greater good. Now wait patiently else you'll be distracting the competition."

"Ah, but the sparrow's team seems to have something chilly on their plate."

Tokiko grinding ice chunks into a large bowl, Mystia moves it from there into individual bowls.

"Their methods seem simple, but it might be just what they need to win. However, their aroma isn't as powerful as the Usagi and Phantom pair. This…will be an interesting round."

Kaguya nods in agreement. "Yes, indeed."

"Blue team, food ready!" Tokiko rushes up to the podium and plots the cool plate down. Fresh cream laid out with fruit and cold ice.

"Ah, a fruit salad. Simple yet effective." Kaguya chimes as she gives it a taste. The spark of sour fruit and delectable sweets rush through her mouth. A cool sensation captures her body. In ecstasy, the lunar princess collapses to the table. "Today, I've finally gone to heaven." She laughs and slaps her thigh. "You get it, don't you?!" She nudges Rinnosuke with her elbow.

"Ow, y-yeah, I get it, geez."

Spoon in hand, Yuyuko takes a bit of the simply made sweet. After a small nibble, she upturns the bowl into her stomach like a dumpster. "That hit the spot. I don't think I have room for anything else."

"You better!" The half-ghost bites her lip.

"Konpaku, do you think we'll make it? Our times running out."

"We will be cutting it really close but I'm sure will make it."

The songbird and her sparrow friend watch eagerly at the two. Youmu rushes across the stand and pulls from underneath a tube of ice and a small container filled with cream.

"Oh, their…their baking on a grill?!"

"Huh?"

"No…" Mystia scratches her head, seething with frustration. "Dang it, I got too careless! I didn't think they'd go for a dish like this?! My overconfidence…Dang, my pride as a cook!"

"I-I don't get it Mystia."

"Those two are planning to make…something hot and cold!"

"On a grill?"

Out of a fryer, Reisen pulls a bundle of donuts. She dips them in glaze and leaves them on top of the girl. The bottom of each pastry still sizzling from the oils of the grill, softly crisping the surface of the delight. Then she rushes over and starts to mix the ice with the cream as fast as possible. Youmu makes way back to the grill and takes her knife, cutting the warm donuts in half.

"That…looks good." Tokiko's mouth waters uncontrollably.

"Tokiko, you traitor!"

"No, It's not like that, Mystia!"

"Inaba, the cream!" Youmu calls out.

"Right!"

Reisen takes the bowl of now pseudo ice cream and slaps them in-between, sandwiching the cold treat with the still warm cake. With a tube of premade chocolate, they glaze the top of each sandwich.

"Red team food ready!" Keine cries before Reisen has the chance to set the first plate down. She rushes over, removes the first three as the crowd rushes in like a river overflowing from a dam.

The judges all receive their freezing hot meal. The fatty donut with cream smeared in the middle glazed in hot sugar and molten chocolate.

"A western dish? I didn't see this coming." The immortal beams with her utensils ready.

Yuyuko takes the first bite. The bliss of fatty calories fills her stomach. "Oh, now this is a guilty pleasure!" With a red ticket in hand, she throws it in the box halfheartedly and devours the overbearing sweet.

"You, sung your last song, songbird." The princess sings as she tosses her red ticket in after."

Mystia runs up to the stage.

"Mr. Rinnosuke! Y-You liked my salad, didn't you?"

"Eh…aw, yeah I really did. It was…less plastered with calories then this…. however."

"Hey, you haven't voted for me once this entire event?! Is it because of the bunny's sex appeal?!"

"Hey, that has nothing to do with my voting opinions!"

Reisen grinds her teeth. "That song bird's pissing me off, Konpaku." Reisen scoffs.

"Heh, let it go, Inaba."

Eyes glaring at Rinnosuke he takes out a red ticket and drops it in for the third time tonight.

"Traitor!"

"I was _never_ on your side!"

"Ha! So, you admit it! He's a spy, they should be disqualified!"

Tokiko grabs hold of Mystia, bringing her back to the stand. Keine replaces her.

"The final results are in…"

* * *

 **Round 1**

 **Reimyon = 10 (Judge Vote) + 19 (Crowd Vote) total = 29 votes.**

 **Mystikiko = 20 (Judge Vote) + 11 (Crowd Vote) total = 31 votes.**

 **Round 2**

 **Reimyon = 20 (Judge Vote) + 9 (Crowd Vote) total = 29 votes.**

 **Mystikiko = 10 (Judge Vote) + 21 (Crowd Vote) total = 31 votes**

 **Round 3**

 **Reimyon = 30 (Judge Vote) + 3 (Crowd Vote) total = 33 votes.**

 **Mystikiko = 0 (Judge Vote) + 27 (Crowd Vote) total = 27 votes**

 **Total**

 **Rei-myon = 93 votes.**

 **Myst-ikiko = 89 votes.**

* * *

"W-we won?" The girls sing in harmony.

"Congratulations you two." Mokou nods.

However, the crowd seems conflicted.

"The bird's food beats the rabbits any day!"

"Well, the results show otherwise!"

The backlash is starting to get violent as many bystanders argue senselessly over the results. Keine hovers above the crowd of rebels.

"Now listen, you all- "

"This was rigged! That Rinnosuke guy was on their side the entire time! Taste this skewer and tell me that that Usagi's team won!"

"Did you eat that ice cream sandwich? Are you mad?!"

The crowd now in a frenzy, Keine even fails to get to them.

"Arrgg…why do they petty scrobble over something so trivial?"

"Hey, what's going on here?!"

Out of the crowd, a red and white Miko fills the night as she makes her way to the middle of the mass.

"Hakurei Reimu?"

"I heard rumors about a ruckus going on in the Human Village and I come to see what's up. But what do I find, people fighting amongst each other? What's this all about?"

"These _degenerates_ believe that the Phantom and Usagi's food tastes terrible!"

"Now hold on, we never said that. Only a lying Usagi lover would say dribble like that!"

"Hey, them right there are fightin' words!"

Reimu moves between the two stalls.

"So, this entire outbreak is caused by the food these four made?" Reimu smirks and puts up her finger as if God has given her the answer.

"I know just what to do…A simple way to settle the differences and the entire town will be in one accord."

"You, Miko, know how to solve this problem?" Keine nurses her head.

"Sure, just trust me, alright?"

After a quick ten minutes or so, mountains of food are placed in multiple wheel barrels. With the help of a short but extremely strong oni, they wave the town goodbye as they make their way back to the shrine. Bewildered the towns members watch as their delectable food is taken away, stolen by the shrine maiden.

"She played this group like a fiddle." Mokou sighs. "Not like I didn't see it coming."

"Well, maybe if they'd donate to her she wouldn't have to result in stealing in the first place." Keine chimes in with expert knowledge.

Now with the situation dying, Youmu and Reisen rush over to the other side. The rabbit attempts to grab the page filled with names away but Tokiko lunges and takes it first.

"Tsk."

"Hehe, even if we lost, big business will fall with us!"

"You delusional Sparrow!" Arms crossed, Youmu stands to the side. "Now hand over that paper, else we will take it by force!"

"You two wronged her now you plan to abuse her too? What horrid people you are. You're no better than that red and white Miko!

Keine and Mokou step in behind the pair now faced with exile.

"Mystia, enough of your games. Give us that paper so we can burn it." The teacher scorn.

"No! This is my livelihood you're taking away from me!" Cradling the sheet in her hands like a child, she backs up. "I won't allow money-grubbing fiends to take what I build for all these years!"

Keine's veins show. "Why don't you stop talking and listen for a change-"

"Hey guys, please don't let her tear up that paper."

They all turn to see the mini Usagi with a smug look on her face.

"Tewi! Where have you been?! I thought you were going help us win?!" Hand on her hip the taller bunny scolds.

"Whatdaya talk'n about, rabbit? I did."

"Elaborate, devil." Youmu, not impressed also follows suit with her hands on her hip.

"Winning this competition was your goal. It's that paper that was the true aim of the Sparrow's game though."

She points to the page Mystia cradles in her hand.

"Hey, Sparrow…read the _fine print_."

"Eh?"

Mystia's sweat turns cold at the confident rabbit's leer. Her palms turn clammy as she looks away and mutters the words out loud…

" _Usagi…Insurance_?"

"When you two were distracted after poor Tokiko tripped and dropped your pork, I swapped the page. So, in actuality, you've been giving me new people to bill monthly for signing up for my Usagi Insurance scheme." The trickster snickers. "Ain't that hilarious?!"

Fist balled, the sparrow drops the page to the ground, her knees fall as her hands catch her on the dirt. Somber tears rain from her cheeks onto the dust. Her voice crackles, as she lets out a wail through the night sky. Youmu and the group watch silently as Tokiko bends down to comfort the now heartbroken Youkai.

"Y-You all are terrible for taking away Mystia's dream. H-How could you wrong her like this? For money? For- "

"Shut up already."

The ghost now tired of the pitiful sight takes the intuitive and marches over to the pair.

"Don't come any closer or else." Tokiko raises to her feet. Arms stretched out, guarding Mystia against any attack aimed to go her way. With determination met by no other, the bird stands firm as Youmu approaches. The swordswoman lifts her hand high in the sky. The bird winces as a soft touch plops gently on her head.

"You idiots…"

"Huh?"

"You both…remind me of two people I know. However, instead of not listening to one another…constantly bickering and being childish…you do the complete opposite."

Youmu pets her head gently even though she is a bit shorter than the bird Youkai. The sight seems backward.

"You two only listen to each other…. fight together and constantly bicker with anyone else instead. You're against anyone who you see as your enemy without even considering the other side's story. And because of that blind justice, you…fail to look at the full picture and get blinded by your own motivations…Just like the two I spoke of."

The songbird now quiets down, listening intently to the half-ghost.

"Nobody is taking your business away. We aren't starting a massive food chain and we have no intentions to either. Your food stall business…is going to be just fine for now."

Mystia's mouth opens wide at a loss for words. She winces at the bit of hope aimed her way. "L-Lies, what about all the stalls lined up?"

"For the Autumn Festival." Reisen chimes in.

"Autumn…Festival?" The songbird stands to her feet. "Oh yeah, …it's around that time of the year, huh?"

"You see?" Mokou smirks. "If you would have listened from the beginning this day could have been a lot less stressful, y'know?"

"Mystia?" The second bird turns to her teacher. "We…did something horrid, didn't we?"

"Oh god, I almost got you two expelled from the Human Village…because of my ignorance!"

Now with guilt welling up inside her, she gets to her knees and bows to the ground. Tokiko without word does the same.

"We are so sorry!"

Youmu grins and nods her head. Reisen turns and sees the half ghost, now resolved, night and day from her struggling self nearly an hour ago. Her stomach churns as a bitter taste in her mouth wells up. She turns and bites on her thumbnail, suppressing her emotions. Then she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

"We forgive you," Reisen smirks, turning back to them.

Aya resting on the rooftop overseeing the event. She is clicking pictures from afar.

"Ah, headline news: _The Usagi and Ghost Forces Song Bird to Become their Slave_." With a smug look on her face, she continues. "I can see it now; the subscribers will go through the roof! How evil! Right, Alice?"

"Why am I still here?" Pouting, she lies her head on her lap.

"Ah, now, now, get a better shot from the other side. You promised you would, I gave you food, remember?"

Dejected, the puppeteer takes her own camera and snaps photos for the selfish Tengu.

From the distance, a girl with bright sea hair sits from high on a nearby home watching the event unfold.

"What a show. Now that was entertaining."

"Ah, there you are. Are you ready to go home, she's waiting for us!"

"Huh, oh, of course."

Youmu ponders now walking with Reisen, Keine, and Mokou. "So Kamishirasawa …how did Mystia get that paper in the first place?"

"Now that you mention it…" Keine closes her eyes. "I can't fathom how that bird got her hands on something like that. I doubt a towns member would have given a document like that to a Youkai."

Keine stops as well as the rest of the group. She then ponders harshly.

"Hm, she even said…"

 ** _["It's too late now! You can rip up that copy all you want but I found plenty to spare. My food chain will thrive if it's the last thing I do!"]_**

"She found them?" The cottontail questions.

Keine turns her head to the side. "I…cannot be certain but…" She then looks at the pair. "I only know of one copy made and that was soon after the mess you two caused."

The group grows silent.

"I can't really tell but…I'm sure everything worked out just fine for her…" The sea-haired girl grins, "Miracles are amazing, don't you think?" With a nod she stands up alongside her miniature hat friend and flies off to the skies, towards the mountain, reaching all the way to the heavens.


End file.
